


Tranquility

by HiddenDirector



Series: The Twin Cities [1]
Category: Shin Sangokumusou | Dynasty Warriors
Genre: Also not descriptive, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Drama, Making Out, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Partial Nudity, Relationship tags as well, but mostly romance, nothing descriptive
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-15
Updated: 2018-01-04
Packaged: 2019-02-15 02:23:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 22,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13021245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HiddenDirector/pseuds/HiddenDirector
Summary: Sima Zhao and Liu Shan have been friends for five years.  They finally decide to take the jump to dating, but being the sons of two of the richest men in Dynasty City it doesn't come easy.  Trouble in the form of Sima Zhao's disapproving friends and family, an awkward first date, and a tension-filled Musou match threaten to destroy any chance they have.  But Zhao and Shan are nothing if not resourceful, and they won't let any of this stop them.





	1. Chapter 1

“…and then you take the square root of the sum, dividing it by…”

Sima Zhao groaned, head hitting the textbook on the table before him.  The rest of the group ignored him, continuing their study session.  The members of his group of friends from Jin Academy were sitting around a coffee shop table going over their math.  He’d personally rather have been doing something, you know, fun.  He looked at each of them in turn.

Wang Yuanji was the one reading out loud, being as she was the most no-nonsense of the group.  Anyone else was almost bound to go off subject on a moment’s notice, even Zhong Hui who was arguably the most insufferable know-it-all in the school and thrived on making sure everyone knew he was smarter than them.

Xiahou Ba had long since fallen asleep on his textbook, but no one bothered him.  He was constantly being transferred between the school districts because of his father’s work, so he rarely was in one school long enough for his lessons to seep in anyway.  Word had it that Xiahou Yuan was transferring to Shu District next to deal with some human relations between Cao Cao and Liu Bei.

Jia Chong kept kicking Zhao under the table, keeping him from joining the youngest of the group in dreamland.  While not as scholastically gifted as the others at the school, he wasn’t worried about his future like most of them.  He was already exactly where he would always need to be, watching Zhao’s back to make sure he didn’t do anything _too_ stupid.  However, he did keep his grades up to a good average simply to keep up appearances.

Wen Yang was resolutely listening to Yuanji speak, keeping an eye on the book and another on his paper where he was taking note after note.  He, like Jia Chong, wasn’t as smart as most people at the school.  He was there on a scholarship, under the praise of the Sima family for his proficient athleticism.  He was trying his best to catch up, however.  He didn’t want to disappoint his father, who wanted to use him to get in good with Sima Yi, nor drag his friends down.

For Zhao, the main reason he wasn’t paying attention was that he already knew all of this.  He’d finished reading the textbook _and_ doing most of the work in it within the first couple of months of the school year.  He’d simply been bored one rainy day and couldn’t think of anything else to do.  A lot of people thought his laziness attributed to foolishness, but the truth was that he learned and adapted faster than most people, so he just became easily bored.

“Wait, I’m sorry, I think I missed a step,” Yang raised a hand, glaring unsure at his paper.  “I’m getting a different answer than you are.”

Zhong Hui gave a long-suffering sigh, rolling his eyes.  “Here we go…” he announced.

“Don’t make fun of him!” Yuanji snapped, glaring.  “Not everyone can be the ‘Future of the Jin District’ like _some_ people.  Believe it or not, some people actually _work_ for what they want.”

“It’s not my fault he decided to sit down with the wrong study group.  If we have to stop every time he doesn’t understand something we’re never leaving,” the brunette groaned.

“Dude, lay off,” Zhao finally spoke up, putting a hand on Hui’s shoulder.  He noticed Wen Yang looking increasingly more embarrassed and didn’t like one of his friends putting down another.  “Just let Yuanji go over it with him really fast.  It won’t kill you.”

“No, but it may put me to sleep like _some_ people.”

“Snrk… wha…?” Xiahou Ba raised his head, blinking blearily at them.  “Are we done?”

“No, go back to sleep,” Zhao said, pushing his head back down into his folded arms.

“Oh, k…” the youngest member closed his eyes and did so without second thought.

“Oh, to be that carefree,” Yuanji chuckled, scooting towards Wen Yang.  “Alright, here, I’ll go over it with you one-on-one.  You do well in those situations.”

“Thanks,” Yang smiled sheepishly.  “Sorry, I’m holding things up.”

“No, don’t apologize.  Hui is just being an ass.”

“Hey!”

While the others laughed, Sima Zhao glanced out the window of the shop, looking at the early-winter rain.  He wasn’t a big fan of the rain, as it made it hard to find something interesting to do.  There were people with umbrellas walking down the street, cars driving by…

A flash of green across the street caught his eye.  Was that…?  No, it couldn’t be.  Not in Jin District.  And most certainly not in the rain without an umbrella.

“Hey, guys, I have to go do something,” Zhao announced, standing up and stuffing his book into his bag.  The others looked at him confused.  “Don’t worry about me; I already know all of this.  You keep going.”

“I should come with you,” Jia Chong said, moving to join him.

“No, no, stay here, Gonglu,” Zhao pushed him back down into his seat.  “I’ll be fine, I promise.”

“If you say so,” Chong muttered.  “And don’t call me Gonglu.”

“Sorry, can’t help it.  It’s just fun to say.”

Before the black-haired man could retort Zhao was off and out of the shop, opening his umbrella.  He strained his neck to see across the street, looking for the tell-tale green jacket he’d spotted a few minutes earlier.  After a moment he finally saw it.  He’d know that slight, thin frame and aimless wandering anywhere.  So he took off, running down to the crosswalk where he could intercept him and run across.  “Liu Shan!” he called, stopping in front of the young man walking towards him.

The Shu District boy looked like he was almost in a trance, staring at the ground in front of him while walking.  When he heard his name, however, his head snapped up, and he blinked at the other young man.  “Oh… Sima Zhao.  Hello.  What are you doing here?”

“I’m exactly where I need to be.  I should be asking _you_ what you’re doing in Jin.”

“Jin…?” for the first time the dark-haired teenager looked around, registering where he was.  “Oh dear… I must have wandered the wrong way while I was thinking again.  How embarrassing.”

Zhao shook his head, smiling.  Liu Shan was the son of Liu Bei, the man who unofficially ran Shu District in the same way that Sima Yi unofficially ran Jin.  Shan, however, was very different from his father and… well, honestly, he was different from _everyone_.  He was known for spacing out, wandering off without warning, and was rumored to be a few aces short of a full deck.  Sima Zhao knew better, though.  He was one of the few people who did.

“You’re lucky I happened to be here,” Zhao said, holding his umbrella up to cover both of them.  “Otherwise you would have probably wandered straight through to Wei.  And who knows what would have happened if you did that?”

“I would be beaten by Wang Yi after being cornered by the girls, most likely.”  He said it so matter-of-factly, it was hard to dispute.  And the girls of Wei _did_ tend to travel in a tight-knit, frightening pack.  After a moment he looked up, just noticing the umbrella.  “Oh.  Is it raining?”

“It’s been pouring for the last hour.  You’re soaked.”

The boy from Shu’s gaze fell to his green and white school uniform.  “So I am.”  He suddenly shivered.  “And now that you mention it, I _am_ quite cold.”

Zhao sighed, looping an arm around his shoulders and guiding him down the street.  “Come on; you can dry off at my place.  Honestly, every time I meet you I get a new appreciation for Xingcai’s job.”

 

()()()

 

“Mmm…”

Sima Shi moaned softly, feeling Zhuge Dan’s lips brush his neck.  After a long day at the university, this was wonderful stress relief.  Without anyone in his family being scheduled home until late they had the house to themselves and planned on taking full advantage of it.  The other man was lying on top of him, hands wandering across the loosened clothing of the district heir.  One was sliding down his side and gently pushing the brunette’s pants down while the other ran up his arm.

“More, Dan…” the younger man hissed as teeth nipped at his collarbone.  His head hung on the sofa arm, eyes closed.  A sound above him got his attention though, and he opened his eyes, glancing.  “ _By the four districts!_ ” he yelped, planting a hand on Zhuge Dan’s forehead and shoving him back before he could expose him anymore.

Leaning over the back of the couch was Sima Zhao, who was accompanied by the young heir of Shu District.  The green-clad young man was watching with thinly-veiled fascination.

“Really, Shi?” Zhao drawled.  “On the couch?  Couldn’t even make it upstairs?”

“What are you doing home?!  And what is _he_ doing here?!” the elder brother demanded, pushing himself off of the couch and pulling his slipping pants back up.  He made a point of facing away from them to hide his red face.

“I figured he could use our dryer,” Zhao shrugged, dodging the questions.  He didn’t want to tell them Liu Shan had been wandering around.  It would only give them a reason to ridicule him.  “Can he borrow some of your clothes, Dan?  You’re only a little taller than him.”

Zhuge Dan looked ready to say something rude, but then closed his mouth and sighed.  He pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering something under his breath.  “Fine,” he finally answered.

“Thank you very much,” Liu Shan bowed, smiling gently.  “I’m sorry to be a bother.”

“No bother at all,” the youngest Sima answered before the other two could.  “Come on; you can change in my room.”

The four tromped up the stairs together, an awkward silence lying between them.  They stopped by Sima Shi’s room for a moment while Zhuge Dan fished out some casual clothes that might fit the young Shu man.  While they were indeed only an inch away from the same height, he had much more muscle than the younger man.  “Here.  Try not to get them wet.”

“Thank you again,” Shan took the clothes gratefully.

“Now, if you’ll excuse us…” Shi said, pulling the shorter Jin man into his room.

“Just keep it down, you two!  I have company!” Zhao teased.  He was answered with a slamming door.  He laughed, gesturing into his room next door.  “Alright, go ahead and change and I’ll throw your stuff in the dryer.”

Liu Shan nodded, taking off his green and white uniform jacket.  As he unbuttoned the dress shirt underneath, he began conversing.  “Your brother seemed very surprised to find you home.  Is there somewhere you were supposed to be?”

“Yeah, a study group,” the Jin man answered, flopping down on his bed with his hands behind his head.  The room itself wasn’t exactly a pig sty, but it still was fairly messy.  There was a pile of clothing in the corner next to his closet and magazines and books scattered in a few places.  It was a perfect example of ‘organized chaos,’ everything placed where it was most convenient to him, yet any outsider would think it was completely random.

“I’m sorry for keeping you from your studies.  I know how important it is to those here in Jin District.”

“Nah, don’t sweat it.  I already know the material, mom and dad just want me to be there to keep me occupied.”

“I see.  Where are your parents?” Liu Shan asked absently as he unbuttoned the pants of his uniform.

“Dad’s at a business thing and mom’s on a cruise right now.  She’ll call at precisely seven o’clock like clockwork to make sure everything’s running smoothly, and then go back to enjoying a week without family drama.”  While he spoke Zhao glanced over.  He wasn’t purposefully peaking; he didn’t even think of it as such.  After all, they were both guys.  It wasn’t like he got embarrassed in the locker room every day at the academy.  However, as soon as he looked he found he couldn’t look away.  It wasn’t Liu Shan standing with his back to him in his underwear that suddenly distracted him.  Rather, it was the fact that he just realized he hadn’t seen Liu Shan without his uniform hat in what had to have been years.  As long as they’d been hanging out, there’d never been a reason for him to remove it.  Now that it was off, Zhao couldn’t stop staring at Liu Shan’s shining black hair.  It was actually quite long.  He kept it tied back with a band and tucked under the hat, making it impossible to know with it on.  Now that he saw the ebony ponytail out, especially the way it tickled his pale, bony shoulders, Zhao had the sudden urge to touch it.  He wondered if it felt as silky as it looked.

Liu Shan was completely oblivious to the stares, bending down and picking up the jeans he’d been provided.  He stepped into one of the legs and then the other, stumbling a bit as he tried to balance.  He pulled them up once he regained it, securing the button and zipper before letting go.  They sagged down on his hips a bit, the legs long enough for the cuffs to rest under the soles of his feet.  “I’m glad these are temporary, they’re not exactly a proper fit,” he chuckled, glancing behind himself.  He finally noticed that the other young man was staring and cocked his head to the side, turning fully around.  “Is there something the matter, Sima Zhao?”

Zhao blinked and shook his head, sitting up on the bed.  “No, nothing.  I was just… er… nothing,” he said lamely.  Brilliant, he could make an excuse to get out of any duty he was asked, yet he couldn’t think of one explanation for why he was staring other than ‘I want to pet your hair.’

It was hard to tell if Liu Shan believed him or not, but the other teenager put on the loaner shirt, a loose t-shirt that went down past his hips, and held his arms up.  “Well, at least it covers anything showing with the pants sliding down.”

The brunette let out a laugh and stood up, taking the wet clothes the heir of Shu removed.  “I’ll run these down to the dryer and have them nice, dry, and fluffy in an hour,” he winked, jogging down the stairs.  Liu Shan followed absently, though he turned off into the living room instead of going to the laundry room with him.

Once the clothes were in the dryer and it was running Zhao went to join him, finding the TV on with Liu Shan flipping through channels at a steady pace, both hands clutching the remote.  He counted exactly two seconds between each channel flip.  Walking over and looking at the cross-legged teenager on the couch he found that, just as he expected, Shan’s focus was not on the task.  His face had the same blank, tranquil look as when he’d found him on the street.  Whatever was running through his brain had nothing to do with the changing programs before him.

While the other was completely zoned out, Zhao realized this was his opportunity.  Would he notice if the brunette decided just to take a quick feel of his hair?  Even in his mind it sounded creepy, but he couldn’t resist.  He just had to know how it felt.  So while the television started another round from Channel 3, the student of Jin Academy sat down next to him and reached out, gently feathering the tips of his fingers down the length of that short, dark ponytail.  A sudden excited spark went off inside of him as he discovered it indeed felt as smooth as silk.  It was amazingly soft, like the fur of a well-bred, long-haired cat.  When the teen from Shu didn’t react, simply kept staring into nothingness as his thumb continued its pattern of two-second parted clicks, Zhao braved another feel.  This time he wove his fingers into the hair, combing them through.

“72.”

Zhao jumped a bit as Shan spoke.  He looked at the other young man’s face.  It hadn’t changed a bit.  His clicking didn’t even waver.  “S-sorry?” he asked, pulling his hand back.  He was embarrassed, having been caught doing something so weird.

“June 12th.  You were 11.  I had just turned 12.  We were on the sixth floor of Kirin Corporation.  Meeting room 3B.”  The clicking continued.

It took Zhao a moment to realize what he was talking about.  “That was where we first met.”  After a pause, he finally understood the meaning of the first number.  “That was the first thing you ever said to me.”

 

()()FLASHBACK()()

 

11-year-old Sima Zhao yawned loudly, receiving a smack on the back of his head from his brother.  “Ow!  Dad, Shi hit me!”

Sima Shi, 14, glared down at him.  Long before Zhao would hit the growth spurt that would put him as the tallest member of the family, Shi still had that advantage over him.  “Don’t be rude.  He will embarrass us in front of our guests, father.”

“Shi is right,” Sima Yi said, huffing.  “We are here to establish good relations with Rising Dragon Industries.  We cannot have them thinking we are lazy.”

“It’s not like you haven’t met Liu Bei before, dad,” the youngest boy muttered, pulling at the tie he was being forced to wear.  It felt like a noose to his young brain.

What he said was true.  However, Sima Yi had just been given his own branch of Fenghuang Unlimited, Cao Cao determining that there was too much territory for him to watch over himself, and formed it into the newly established Kirin Corporation.  He needed to establish good ties with both Rising Dragon Industries and Sun Jian’s Red Tiger Shipping.  “Now we are meeting him again.  And we will be civil and not embarrass ourselves.  Is that clear?” Sima Yi asked sternly.

“Yes, father,” the two boys chorused.

“…five bucks says Zhuge Liang shows up and dad does the embarrassing for us,” Zhao whispered to his brother.

“That’s not funny, Zhao,” the older brother hissed back.  After a moment he added, “Ten bucks and the loser’s desserts for a week.”

“Deal.”

 

()()()

 

“Sima Yi, what an honor to meet you again!” Liu Bei entered the meeting room an hour later, exactly on time.  He was obviously trying to make a good impression himself.  He shook hands with the new entrepreneur firmly.

Behind him trailed a young boy who looked his spitting image, though small and slight.  He was pale, and his gaze was distant.

“Liu Bei, these are my sons,” the man of the newly established Jin District introduced.  “Sima Shi is my oldest and the next in line to inherit my business, and Sima Zhao is my youngest.”

“Hello, boys,” Liu Bei shook both of their hands as they greeted him in kind.  He then reached behind himself, gently pushing the boy there in front of him.  “This is my son, Liu Shan.  Say hello.”

The boy looked from Sima Shi to Sima Zhao, to their father, and finally to his own father.  He simply shook his head ‘no,’ which caused his father to falter.

“Liu Shan, please say hello to Sima Yi and his sons,” the owner of Rising Dragon Industries urged, looking increasingly uncomfortable as he simply received another shaking of the head in return.  He looked distressed up at Sima Yi.  “I am so sorry; I don’t know what’s wrong.  Liu Shan is usually very friendly.”

“No harm was done,” Sima Yi smiled politely, gesturing to the table in the center of the room.  “Shall we discuss business?”

“One moment, if you will,” Liu Bei once again looked apologetic.  “I brought Zhuge Liang with me, under his suggestion.  He should be along any moment now.”

Sima Yi managed a strained look of understanding.  “That is quite alright.  Why don’t we sit down while we wait?”

“Of course.”

They all took seats around the table, Sima Yi and Liu Bei across from each other, with Sima Shi and then Zhao on the Jin side of it and Liu Shan sitting on the other side of an empty seat meant for Zhuge Liang.  The youngest member of the table looked across at the ebony-haired boy.  He was staring at the table as if it were the most interesting thing in the room.  His head tilted to the side before he looked up at the boy watching him.  Zhao smiled at him, raising a hand in a wave, but the other boy didn’t even return the gesture.  Shan instead tilted his head to the other side, blinking.  Zhao began to wonder what his deal was as Zhuge Liang finally entered.

The business advisor apologized as he walked to the table.  “Forgive my tardiness,” his voice, as always, was light and airy.  “We received an urgent call from Pang Tong.  I took care of things, however.”

“What happened?” Liu Bei sounded alarmed.

“It was nothing I couldn’t resolve,” the other man assured him, patting Liu Shan on the head as he passed to sit.  “And this is not the place to discuss it.  We may talk back at the office if you’d like.”  He was making sure to not show any weaknesses in the company in front of Sima Yi.  A smart move.

Speaking of the new leader of Jin, he forced a smile, “Good of you to join us, Zhuge Liang.  I was… surprised that he would bring you along.”

“I do not see why.  I am, after all, his business advisor.  Liu Bei should not make any decisions without running them by me first.  While I am confident in his abilities to run the company, it is best for him to have a second opinion on things.”  In other words, he wanted to make sure Liu Bei didn’t make emotional mistakes that would cost them.

“Indeed.  Shall we get started?”

While the three adults discussed business, Sima Zhao tuned them out.  The three boys were provided with paper and pens to do with what they wished.  Liu Shan was absently running his pen across the paper with no discernable pattern.  Sima Shi was listening intently and making notes, much to his father’s pleasure.  Zhao meanwhile had drawn a few random doodles but was quickly bored of sitting in one place listening to adults drawl on.  He subconsciously clicked his pen as he thought of the next thing to draw.  He was delighted to discover it bugged Shi, as the older boy kept reaching over and grabbing his hand, occasionally actually taking the pen away and putting it on the table.  Zhao couldn’t do it too conspicuously often, however, so as not to bother the three businessmen.

As he continued to do this, Zhao became increasingly aware of Liu Shan stopping his drawing to watch him.  However, every time he looked up, the other boy would immediately go back to his paper.

“I believe that is everything required to complete this deal,” Zhuge Liang announced, pushing back in his seat to stand up.

“Yes, I suppose it is,” Sima Yi muttered.  He obviously wasn’t completely satisfied with how the meeting had gone, but that was to be expected.  He had thought he was prepared for anything.  Zhuge Liang, as so many times in the past, proved him wrong.  “Thank you for joining us today.  I hope to have a long, healthy business relationship.”

“As do I,” Liu Bei agreed.  He pulled Liu Shan’s chair out at the table.  “Come on, A Dou.  We’re done here.”

The boy nodded, sliding out of the seat and following him to the door.  The Sima family saw the three guests to the elevator, stopping for a moment while they waited for it.

“72.”

Everyone looked down, startled by the number coming from the boy who hadn’t spoken until that moment.  He was staring at Sima Zhao again.

“Huh?” the brunette boy asked, looking confused.

“You clicked your pen 72 times during the meeting.”  The heir of Shu held a hand out.  “Hello, Sima Zhao.  I am Liu Shan.”

Zhao didn’t respond at first.  Everyone was watching him to see what he’d do, but it was so… unexpected.  “Um… h-hello,” he finally managed, taking the hand and shaking it.

“How old are you?”

“Me?  11 years.”

“I just turned 12.  It was a wonderful party.  What would you have brought me?”

“Liu Shan!” his father finally found his voice, sounding horrified.  “That is not something you ask someone you just met!”

“I’m sorry,” Liu Shan said without changing the conversational tone.  “I suppose you wouldn’t have to get me anything since you don’t know what I like.  Would you like to be friends?”

While Sima Yi and Shi were completely put off by the strange, disjointed conversation so casually being carried by the boy of Shu, Sima Zhao felt he was beginning to understand it.  “Yeah, I’ll be friends with you.”

“Oh, good,” Liu Shan smiled, turning as the elevator bell dinged.  “Goodbye, Sima Zhao.”  And with that, the boy entered the elevator and didn’t turn back around, as if to dictate the end of the conversation.

Liu Bei followed, still looking mortified by how his son behaved, with Zhuge Liang trailing and looking amused.

As soon as the elevator doors closed and it began moving, Sima Shi spoke.  “There is something very wrong with that kid.”

Sima Zhao didn’t deny nor agree with him, simply shrugged.  He then said, “You owe me ten bucks and your desserts, by the way.”

 

()()END FLASHBACK()()

 

“Why didn’t you talk until the end of the meeting that day?” Zhao asked as it occurred to him that he’d never bothered to do so in the five years they’d been friends.

Liu Shan stopped clicking finally, glancing at him.  His unreadable stare penetrated him a moment before he replied.  “I didn’t know if I wanted to be friends with you or not.  Your brother would have wanted to be friends for no other reason than because of our fathers.  But by the end of the meeting, I believed that you really wanted to be.”

“How did you decide that?”

The ebony haired young man shrugged, pressing the power button and turning off the TV.  “I simply… did.”  He put the controller down and startled the other man by scooting over to him and taking his arm, lifting it up.  He placed himself under it, letting it go as he curled up to his side.   “We’ve known each other for five years, and we said we would be friends, yet we’ve spent real time together like this so rarely.  I wish to be closer to you.  Hanging out in the coffee shop, or at the park, or at the Fire Goddess Grill is fun, but we never spend time really getting to know each other.”

Sima Zhao thought about that statement as he let his arm fall around Liu Shan.  The other teenager closed his eyes peacefully, seeming to melt perfectly into Zhao’s side.  “…A stuffed tiger.”

“Hmm?” the boy of Shu hummed, not opening his eyes.

“It’s what I would have bought you if I’d been at your 12th birthday.”

“Do you not think that is a strange toy to buy a 12-year-old boy?”

“You were a very strange 12-year-old boy,” Sima Zhao smirked, leaning back against the couch and closing his eyes as well.

“I am still very strange, I think.”

“You are.  But that’s okay.  I like it.”

“I want to go on a date with you.”

“What?”  Zhao’s head snapped back up, and he stared down at the other man in shock.  That had come completely out of the blue.

“I want to go on a date with you,” Shan repeated.

The man of Jin stared at him, mouth slack.  Liu Shan’s eyes were still closed, peacefully nuzzled into his side.  “I… uh…” he stammered, trying to think of a response.  Luckily he was saved by the ringing phone.  It was on the stand right next to the couch, so he didn’t even have to move to get it.  He picked it up quickly.  “Sima residence.”

“Sima Zhao?”  The young woman on the other end didn’t even say hello.

“Yeah, that’s me.  Who’s this?”

“Xingcai.  Is Liu Shan there?”  Again, she cut straight to the point.

“Oh, yeah.  Hey.  Hold on a second, he’s right here.”

Zhao passed the phone down to Liu Shan.  “Hello, Xingcai,” he said pleasantly.

“Liu Shan, you fool, what are you doing there?  You were supposed to wait for me in front of the school!” her voice came out exasperated.

“I’m sorry, Xingcai.  I seem to have wandered into Jin District.  It’s alright, though.  I’m with Sima Zhao now.  He’s drying my clothes in his laundry room.  The weather is quite bad out there.  Do you have an umbrella?”

“Do I… I’m back at your house!  I thought maybe you went home without me!”  She sighed loudly, and Zhao could almost see her pinching the bridge of her nose as she tried to keep her cool.  “Stay there.  I’ll have Zhao Yun drive me over, and we’ll pick you up.  I’m sure your clothes will be dry by then.”  He noticed she didn’t even question why his clothes were wet in the first place.  This probably wasn’t the first time this happened.  “Do _not_ go anywhere, do you hear me?”

“Oh, yes.  The sound in this phone is quite clear.  Maybe we should ask them where they bought it.  I would like one of my own.”

There was a long pause on the other line.  “Just stay there,” she repeated.  There was a click and a dial tone.

“Oh, dear.  I think I may have worried her,” Liu Shan’s face fell a bit, staring at the phone until Zhao took it.

“I’m pretty sure there isn’t a moment of her life that goes by that she’s _not_ worried you’ve gotten yourself into trouble,” the other man chuckled, hanging the phone up.  “You’re a walking pile of it.”

“I know.  I don’t mean to be.  Do you think she knows that?”

“Yeah, I’m sure she does.”

There was a long, comfortable silence between them.  Zhao almost thought the Shu boy had fallen asleep.  He didn’t mind.  They had time before Zhao Yun and Xingcai would be able to get there.  It was approaching rush hour, and the traffic between Shu and Jin was going to be terrible.  After all, they’d have to cut through Wu territory to get there.

That was when it occurred to Sima Zhao that for Liu Shan to have wandered from Shu Academy to Jin District he would have had to wander through Wu himself.  He didn’t think that anyone there would have tried anything.  After all, Sun Jian and Liu Bei shared a good relationship with each other.  Out of the four districts, in fact, they got along the best.  However, it probably wouldn’t take long before word that Liu Shan had wandered through completely zoned out made its way through the district.  Most of them wouldn’t care, but he knew there were those who would enjoy poking fun at him.

The young man of Jin didn’t like the idea of people laughing at Liu Shan.  It was true that he was… different.  But that wasn’t what defined him to Zhao.  Over the five years they’d known each other, he’d discovered Liu Shan was much smarter than he let on.  While not traditionally intelligent, he wasn’t stupid by far.  He had trouble in school because oft-times he would forget assignments or give answers to questions that would baffle the teachers behind what kind of logic he was using.  It got to the point where Zhuge Liang had to split his duties between helping Liu Bei run his company and managing the unique thought process of Liu Shan so that he could pass his classes.  He even created an entirely new grading system so that the young man wouldn’t be left behind simply because he received and processed information differently than everyone else.  In fact, Zhuge Liang was likely the only person other than Sima Zhao who truly comprehended how smart Liu Shan really was.

“Do you like my hair?”

Zhao jumped as he was startled out of his thoughts.  The Shu boy wasn’t dislodged from his side, however, as he simply moved with it.  “Uh…” he made an embarrassed sound, remembering that he had been caught petting Liu Shan’s hair a few minutes ago.

“It’s okay.  I still want to go on a date with you.”

The young man of Jin swallowed a lump in his throat.  A date with Liu Shan.  Did he want that?  Did he like the other young man in such a way?  Surely he didn’t have to decide on that before a few dates.  That was what dating was for, right?  “Yeah, sure.  I mean, I guess we can go on a date.  We can think of where and when later.”

When there was no response, Sima Zhao glanced down.  He couldn’t tell how he knew, but Liu Shan had finally fallen asleep against him.  He took a breath, leaned his head back, and closed his own eyes again.  He could use some rest himself.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Xingcai and Zhao Yun arrive to pick up Liu Shan. Meanwhile, the Heir of Shu gets to know Sima Zhao a little better.

Sima Shi paused as he passed the living room on his way to the kitchen.  He was getting some post-sex drinks for himself and Zhuge Dan, the other too passed out on the bed to even consider joining him.  However, there was something strangely distracting about seeing his brother and the heir to the Liu family curled up napping on the couch before him.  He could only see the backs of their heads, but it was quite obvious they were asleep.  Something about that boy struck him as wrong, but Sima Zhao would hear none of it whenever he brought it up.  He was oddly defensive of someone who didn’t seem to show much affection, let alone any emotion, towards anyone in particular.  He’d long since suspected his younger brother of having feelings for Liu Shan.  He’d shared these thoughts with Zhuge Dan, but no one else.  The last thing his family needed was the rumor that the two heirs were… _involved_ floating around the city.

The problem wasn’t the fact that they were both men.  Hell, considering who was in his bed at that moment Sima Shi couldn’t say a single thing about that.  In fact, despite its Chinese heritage Dynasty City seemed oddly open about sexuality.  It was often joked how surprising it was that there were any children with how many people fell into bed with others of the same gender.  Even his own parents, who were indeed in passionate love with each other, weren’t strangers to the pleasures of their own genders.  Shi himself couldn’t say he had any real interest in the opposite sex, but he knew Zhao and Wang Yuanji had dated more than once and didn’t find it disagreeable.  This surely meant that Zhao and Shan couldn’t be involved, right?

The trouble with it was that Liu Shan had a… reputation around Dynasty City.  He was, to put it kindly, an airhead.  It wasn’t hard to gather why Liu Shan had shown up wet and needing a new change of clothes simply by looking outside.  He was prone to wandering feet as well as a wandering mind.  This wasn’t the behavior of a man who was well in the head, in Sima Shi’s opinion.  As many members of Dynasty University joked, ‘Liu Shan has a million thoughts and not a single brain cell to sort them.’

The sound of buzzing behind him made Sima Shi jump, startled.  It took him a moment to realize it had been the dryer.  The Heir of Jin let out a breath, getting his heart back to its normal rhythm.  He hadn’t realized he’d been so tense.  Spying on his brother and his friends wasn’t an activity he engaged in often.

“That was my clothes.”

“For the love of-!”  Sima Shi’s heart jumped out of his chest again at the soft voice that came from directly next to him.  He hadn’t even heard Liu Shan approach.  Sima Zhao was still sleeping on the couch.  Not surprising, as the younger of the brothers could sleep through a stampede of elephants.

“I’m sorry, did I startle you?” Liu Shan tilted his head to the side, smiling softly.

If he didn’t know better, Sima Shi could have sworn the younger man was mocking him.  “No, I was just… I was getting drinks.  From the kitchen.”  He backed away from Liu Shan as calmly as he could with his heart beating a quick rhythm against his ribcage.  _For the love of the Four Districts, calm down.  He’s just a harmless kid._

“Will you help me get my clothes?  I don’t know your house that well, and I don’t want to disturb Sima Zhao,” the ebony-haired teenager asked, calm smile unwavering in the face of Sima Shi’s strange behavior.

The older Sima sibling cleared his throat, regaining his composure.  “Yes, of course.  The laundry room is this way.”  He gestured down the hall, past the kitchen.  They had maids that usually took care of such things as the laundry, but they were allowed Thursdays and Sundays off.  His mother had insisted upon it, stating that Thursdays were better for the maids to do their shopping, errands, and whatever else they did on their days off without having to fight the crowds.

Liu Shan followed silently behind as Sima Shi led the way.  It felt awkward, even though (or maybe because) he could feel the heir to the Liu fortune still smiling.  If he was going to insist on faking that innocent smile every moment of his life, he could at least have the decency to quit while no one was looking at him.  Shi did his best to ignore it, though, and quickly helped the young man unload his clothes from the dryer.

The brunette man was surprised when Liu Shan painstakingly ran his fingers across every inch of cloth, checking to make sure it wasn’t damp anywhere.  “Ah, thank you.  They are nice and dry now.  In fact, they are quite warm.”  The boy from Shu District held the freshly dried clothes to his cheek, closing his eyes and sighing contently.  He looked completely peaceful, tranquil even.  He opened his eyes after a moment, blinking and seeming surprised at himself.  “Oh, I’m sorry.  If you’ll excuse me, I will go change back into these.  I’m sure Zhuge Dan would like his own clothes back.”

Sima Shi simply nodded and watched the young heir of Shu walk away with the bundle of clothes.  He sighed in relief, though why he wasn’t sure, and went to the kitchen.  He needed something to calm his nerves after that encounter.

The doorbell rang a few minutes later.  Shi almost waited for one of the maids to open it when he remembered they weren’t in.  So he went to answer it quickly, not wanting to keep whoever it was waiting.

Standing at the door was a black-haired teenage girl in a Shu Academy uniform.  The Jin heir wasn’t completely sure who she was, though he felt like he’d seen her before.  He knew well who the young man standing behind her holding a dripping umbrella was, though.  He was often accompanying Liu Bei on business, being one of his bodyguards.

“Zhao Yun,” Sima Shi greeted.  “I assume you and the young lady are here to pick up Liu Shan.”

“Yes, thank you for, um…” the polite young man trailed off, not seeming to know how to finish.

“Putting up with our idiot,” the young woman with him finished.  She was obviously not in a good mood, so Sima Shi didn’t comment on how rude that had been.

He now realized who she was by her exasperated expression and lack of respect for her charge.  It was Xingcai, daughter of Zhang Fei, one of Liu Bei’s closest friends.  She’d been charged with watching over Liu Shan, being his age.  He’d heard the eldest son of Guan Yu was expected to help her with it, but he somehow always had an excuse ready to back out.

“He was no trouble,” Sima Shi stepped aside to allow them inside.  He’d meant it.  Despite Liu Shan’s… off-putting nature, and their forcing him and Zhuge Dan to move upstairs, they practically didn’t even remember he was there.

“He rarely is,” Zhao Yun said with a smile.  He left the umbrella to the side on the porch to dry before following Xingcai inside.  “Despite his quirks, Liu Shan is a very quiet, considerate person.  He doesn’t usually disturb anyone.”

“Hmm,” was all Shi could think to respond with.  He’d heard the young bodyguard was particularly close to Liu Shan.  There were jokes among the Districts that he was the mother the young heir needed after losing his own.

“Hey, what’s up…?” Sima Zhao came out from the living room, yawning and stretching.  He scratched the back of his head, looking between the three.  “Oh, hey, Xingcai.  Zhao Yun.  You here for Liu Shan?”

“For a family of geniuses, you do like to state the obvious, don’t you?” Xingcai muttered, folding her arms over her chest.

Instead of getting offended, Zhao laughed.  “I’ll take that as a yes.  I’ll go get him, then.  I’ll take it he went to change back into his clothes?” he asked his older brother.

Shi nodded.  “He should be back in your room.”  He watched Zhao run up the stairs and turned back to the pair.  “Would you like anything while you’re here?”  He didn’t want to be a rude host, even if they weren’t staying long.

The raven-haired woman made an impatient sound, but then answered, “Do you have any coffee?”

“Yes, follow me.  Zhao Yun?” he looked at the bodyguard.

The young man shook his head.  “No, but thank you.  I’ll wait for him here.”

Xingcai sighed, rolling her eyes.  “If you spoil him he’ll keep relying too much on people, Yun.  You know that.”

“I’m just waiting for him to come down the stairs, Cai,” Zhao Yun laughed.

The young woman opened her mouth to say something else, but then stopped.  She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.  “Fine.”

Sima Shi almost did a double-take.  That was a perfect mirror of Zhuge Dan earlier that afternoon when Sima Zhao asked him to let Liu Shan borrow his clothes.  The resemblance was almost uncanny.  Until then he’d almost thought that her relationship with the heir of Shu reminded him of Wang Yuanji’s with his younger brother.  However, he realized instead it was closer to Zhuge Dan’s with Sima Zhao.  He could only imagine that this was how Dan would behave if he were forced to spend most of his day with Zhao.  It was no wonder she had no verbal filter anymore.

“Are we getting that coffee or not?” Xingcai snapped him out of his musings.

“Right, sorry,” Sima Shi turned towards the kitchen.  “This way.”

 

()()()()()

 

“Liu Shan?” Zhao knocked on his bedroom door.  It felt a bit silly doing so since it _was_ his own bedroom.  But he didn’t want to open the door and surprise the heir of Shu while… not decent.  When he didn’t receive an answer, the younger Sima scratched his head.  He knocked again, a little louder.  “Shan, you there?”  Again, there was silence.  Thinking that maybe Liu Shan wasn’t in there after all, he decided to check.

When he opened the door, Zhao was surprised to find that Liu Shan was indeed there.  He was sitting on the bed, wearing his uniform again.  The clothes he’d borrowed were neatly folded on the desk.  A book was open in front of the ebony-haired young man, keeping his attention.

Zhao approached, glancing at the book.  It was his yearbook from the previous year.

“You have many friends.”

The brunette wasn’t startled.  He was standing right next to Liu Shan at that point.  If the young man hadn’t noticed him by then, he would have to have been blind.  He nodded.  “Yeah.”  Zhao sat down on the bed next to him.  Shan was looking at a picture from the ‘Memories’ part of the book.  Being as Sima Zhao was the son of the District’s leader it was unsurprising there would be a photo of him and his friends in there.

“Who are they?” Liu Shan asked.

The younger man could have pointed out that there was a caption with their names on it underneath, but he knew it wouldn’t have mattered.  Liu Shan didn’t ask that.  He wanted to know who they were to _him_.  So he pointed out each in turn.

“Well, there’s me, of course.  And next to me there is Wang Yuanji,” he pointed to the blond haired young woman standing next to him.  She was standing proper and straight, smiling politely.  It was easy to see in her eyes that she was annoyed by something, though.  He remembered having said something obscene just before the photo to try and get her to react.  “She probably tries harder than anyone I’ve ever seen to be mature.  She’s actually really fun when you get her to relax, though.  Behind us is Jia Chong,” his finger wandered up to the pale-skinned, black-haired man almost half-obscured by Sima Zhao.  He was actively rolling his eyes at the time of the photo being shot.  It couldn’t look more perfect for him if it tried.  “He’s supposed to be my bodyguard, but he’s actually my best friend.  I can’t believe he managed to find a way to hide in the background of a group photo with only six people in it.  On my other side is Wen Yang,” he pointed to the handsome young man with shoulder-length black hair.  Back then he looked even more uncomfortable and shy.  He had tried to back out of the photo since he’d only been a part of the group for a short amount of time by then.  Sima Zhao had insisted he stay, though, still being a friend.  “He’s extremely athletic, and dad thought he had a lot of potential, so he’s here on a scholarship.  Don’t let the photo fool you, he’s actually a really nice, personable guy.  He just gets really shy when he doesn’t feel like he’s living up to whatever expectations he thinks people are laying on him.  He’s super confident at training, though.  He can handle a spear like nobody’s business.”

“You sound like you really like him.”

Zhao looked at Shan in surprise.  He could have sworn for a second he sounded… jealous?  Nah, that couldn’t be right.  They hadn’t even started dating yet.  Still, he felt the need to point out, “It’s hard not to.  Like I said, he’s really friendly when he gets comfortable with people.  Pretty much everyone likes him, at least a little.  He’s just kind of hard on himself.”

Liu Shan nodded, seeming to relax just a bit.  He pointed to a tall, muscular man standing to the far left.  He was behind Zhong Hui, giving a friendly, personable smile.  “He seems far more athletic than Wen Yang.  But doesn’t he go to Dynasty University?  I feel like I’ve seen him when visiting Zhao Yun there.”

“Yeah, he graduated last year.  He’s Deng Ai, and he _is_ really strong.  We always liked watching him and Yang spar, since they were our top two in the school.  In sheer strength, Deng Ai definitely had the advantage, but Wen Yang has speed and agility.  Besides, Ai was always more academic than anything.  He’s majoring in Geography if I remember right.”

“And this?”

“Oh, that’s Zhong Hui.  He’s kind of insufferable, honestly.  He gets all the top marks in class and is really athletic, too.  We wouldn’t care so much if he’d ever _shut up_ about it.  He thinks he’s the greatest thing in the world.”

Liu Shan looked up at Sima Zhao.  “I’ve never heard you speak so negatively about anyone before.  If you dislike him so much, why are you friends?”

Zhao looked back at him in surprise.  “Do I sound like I hate him?  Geez, I didn’t mean for it to sound like that.  I'm just honest about what he’s like,” he sighed.  “The truth is, even though he’s so insufferable he isn’t actually that confident.  I think he feels like he _has_ to be the smartest, best person in the room.  He’s trying to prove something, but I don’t know what.  I’ll let you in on a little secret.  Whenever he does this,” Zhao reached up and curled some of his bangs around his finger, tugging on them, “It means that he’s feeling uncomfortable or awkward.”

“He looks like that in the picture.”

Zhao shook his head.  “Nah, he just looks like his usual…”  When he looked back at the picture to where Liu Shan was pointing at Zhong Hui’s arm, which was raised so that his hand was hovering just under his face, he realized what he meant.  He’d never realized it because of the frozen image, but if he continued the motion that was captured it would have ended up with him doing exactly that.  Tugging the curl of his brunette bangs. “Well, I’ll be damned.  I don’t remember him being uncomfortable about anything during this.”  If this was taken right after Sima Zhao had made a crass joke to get a reaction from Wang Yuanji, then that had to be the reason why.  But why was Zhong Hui looking suddenly so awkward?  If only he could remember the joke he’d told…

“Sima Zhao!”

Zhao and Shan both jumped, looking at the door.  Zhuge Dan was standing there, arms folded across his chest, foot tapping impatiently.  His usual look of annoyance and disgust was plastered on his face.  “I can’t believe you.  I went down to check on Sima Shi and found him having coffee with Xingcai.  Shi said he sent you up here to get Liu Shan so she and Zhao Yun can take him home, and I find you looking at old _pictures_.  Do you realize how rude it is that you’ve been leaving them waiting down there for the last twenty minutes?”

“Ah, has it been twenty minutes already?  Sorry, I guess we lost track of time,” Sima Zhao apologized sheepishly.  “Alright, we’ll be down in a minute.”

“No, you’ll be going down _now_ ,” Dan snapped, pointing out the door testily.  “Or I tell your mother when she returns that you skipped study group today.”

“You wouldn’t!” Zhao yelped.

“Try me.”

At the unwavering answer, the brunette knew Shi’s boyfriend wasn’t lying.  So he closed the yearbook, jumping off the bed and grabbing Liu Shan’s arm.  The Shu heir stumbled as he was dragged from the room by the panicking teenager.  “We’re going, we’re going!” he said desperately to Zhuge Dan as he ran by.

At the front entrance, they found Zhao Yun on his cellphone, back to them.

“Yes, sorry.  I’ll make it up to you.  We can have dinner tomorrow.  I’ll cook.”  After a moment he chuckled.  “I know what you’ll want for dessert…”

“Is sex all college kids think about?” Sima Zhao asked Liu Shan in a stage whisper.  The ebony-haired heir let out a light laugh.

Zhao Yun turned quickly, face bright red.  He stuttered a moment, embarrassed at having been caught saying something so suggestive on the phone.  “Um… I… I’ll c-call you back…” he stumbled in his embarrassment, quickly ending the call.  “Liu Shan, there you are.  I, uh… I mean, Xingcai’s in the kitchen, perhaps we should go and get her.”

“Who were you talking to, Zhao Yun?” Liu Shan asked curiously, following behind the flustered bodyguard.

“No one,” the dark-brunette said quickly, looking anywhere but at the teenagers.  “I mean… it isn’t important.”

“What’s not important?” Xingcai asked at the table, where she sat across from Sima Shi.  When she saw Liu Shan, she spared Zhao Yun having to explain the embarrassment.  “You!”

It wasn’t often Liu Shan’s unfazable smile actually faltered.  It sprang into both fear and guilt when she stood from the table, marching over.  He backed away quickly, raising his hands in a gesture of peace.

“I can’t believe you!” the ebony-haired young woman snapped, stopping in front of him and jabbing his cheek with her forefinger.  “One day you’re going to wander off into trouble, and they’re going to fire me for being unable to track your scatterbrained movements!”

“I-I am very sorry, Xingcai…” the heir of Shu began.

Xingcai cut him off.  “What do you have to say for yourself?  How could you be so _irresponsible_ as to wander off so far in the _rain_?!  You could have been hurt!  You could have gotten lost!  You could have caught a cold!”

Liu Shan looked like a child being scolded by their mother.  Perhaps everyone was wrong about Zhao Yun.  Xingcai seemed to be a much more effective parent than even Liu Shan’s own father.  “I’m sorry, I don’t know why…”

“Not good enough!”  Xingcai cut him off again, poking him in the chest this time.  The other men present were so stunned by the display before them they didn’t think they could intervene even if they tried.  “When we get back it’s straight to the training room!  No arguments!  I’m going to work you into the ground!”

Liu Shan’s downcast eyes looked helplessly to Zhao Yun.  The older bodyguard snapped out of his daze and cleared his throat.  “Now, Xingcai that seems hardly fair…”

“Don’t _even_ think of taking his side,” the young woman’s voice lowered when she threatened Zhao Yun this time.  “You’re too soft on him.  It’s no wonder he thinks he can get away with anything by pouting and apologizing.”

Sima Zhao finally managed, “You know, this sounds _really_ personal.  Maybe this is a conversation you should be having at home.”

His elder brother shook his head at the words, speaking up as well.  “Yes, I do believe it’s about time you left.  Father should be returning home soon, and I don’t think he would appreciate having bickering Shu bodyguards in his kitchen.”

“Ah, I apologize,” Zhao Yun looked sheepish.  He turned to the other two Shu District residents.  “They’re right, we should go.  We’ll discuss this at home.”

“Yeah, alright,” Xingcai begrudgingly agreed.  It was obvious she didn’t like to be cut off when she was on a roll.  She glanced at Liu Shan, who looked relieved by the interruption.  “Don’t think this means we’re done.  I’m having a long talk with you while I monitor your training.”

The heir didn’t respond, instead swallowing hard.  He didn’t have a chance to do anything but give Sima Zhao a helpless look as Xingcai spun him around and started shoving him towards the door.

In the entranceway, Sima Zhao and Shi saw the trio off.

“Thank you for letting me stay while I dried off,” Liu Shan said to the younger brother as Zhao Yun secured the uniform cloak they brought for him around his shoulders.  “Do you wish to call me, or shall I call you?”

“I think it’d be best if I call you,” Sima Zhao chuckled.  “No offense, but I don’t think we can trust you not to forget.”

The ebony-haired heir laughed.  “No, I suppose we cannot.  Then I will wait for your call.  We can discuss where and when then.”

“Sounds good.”

“Where and when what?” Sima Shi asked suspiciously.

Sima Zhao didn’t say anything.  He wasn’t sure how to tell not only his brother but also Liu Shan’s overprotective bodyguards what they had agreed to.  Turned out he didn’t have to when Liu Shan decided to behave like himself.

“Sima Zhao and I are going on a date,” he announced.  He said it completely casually as if it were no big deal.

Xingcai begged to differ.  “What?!”

Zhao Yun couldn’t seem to decide how to react, staring at his employer’s son.

“That is unimportant right now,” Liu Shan chuckled, turning to leave.  “Goodbye, Sima Zhao.  Sima Shi.”

“See ya, Liu Shan,” the younger brunette replied, smiling.  It was amazing how easily he could say something that would cause a stir.  Amazing, but not surprising.  Not if anyone had the patience to become close to him.

Zhao Yun followed quickly, opening the umbrella he’d brought before Liu Shan could become soaked again.  Xingcai walked next to the heir, asking a million (loud) questions.  No matter how much she demanded an explanation, however, he wouldn’t respond.

Sima Zhao closed the door, laughing.  He turned to face his brother, who had been silent since the announcement.  Unlike Zhao Yun and Xingcai, who had been stunned, he looked completely unsurprised.  It didn’t mask his disapproval, nevertheless.

“Don’t start with me, Shi,” Zhao huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

“You should not be dating him,” the elder Sima simply replied.

“I don’t wanna hear it!”  Zhao marched past him, heading up the stairs.  Even though Shi didn’t say any more, the younger brunette could feel his disapproving glare boring into his back the entire way up.

“He’s right,” Dan said, leaning on the wall at the top of the stairs.

“Don’t wanna hear it from you either,” Zhao grumbled as he walked right past.

“What do you think your father will say when he hears about this?” the bodyguard persisted.  Unlike Shi, who knew when to drop things with his brother, he never seemed to miss an opportunity to argue with Zhao.

“If you didn’t notice, Zhuge Dan,” Zhao said, yanking the door to his room open, “I don’t care what anyone thinks.  Not Shi.  Not even dad.”  He leveled a glare at the shorter man.  “And I _especially_ don’t care what _you_ think.”  He slammed the door behind him as soon as he was in.

Zhuge Dan stared at the door a moment before smirking.  “I know,” he said to the air where Zhao had been standing.

Sima Zhao hadn’t heard him.  He stood beside his door, trying to calm his nerves.  It wasn’t like him to lose his temper like that.  He didn’t care about the company or the family legacy.  Didn’t care if he never lived up to the unnaturally high standards his parents held them to.  He just got so _sick_ of hearing what a disappointment to the Sima name he was.  He didn’t want this to turn into that, too.

Especially not this.

They could talk all they wanted about him being lazy.  Unmotivated.  Aimless.  But he didn’t want them to drag Liu Shan into all this.  Maybe they were right.  Maybe this was a bad idea.  Not for the reasons they thought.  But maybe it was a bad idea because Liu Shan deserved better than being scraped under the scrutiny of his family’s impossible expectations.

While he contemplated phoning Liu Shan and calling things off, he realized there was something in his room that didn’t belong.  The ebony-haired heir’s uniform hat sat neatly on the bed next to the still-open yearbook.

Zhao nearly didn’t touch the brimmed hat, almost afraid that if he did it would wake him from some crazy-good dream he’d been having that day.  But no, when he picked it up he was still sitting on his bed looking at the deep emerald of the fabric, cords of golden thread lining it.  Looking at it, all he could think of was watching Liu Shan take it off earlier, the long strands of black hair tickling his shoulders.  Running his fingers through that soft, silky ponytail while sitting together with him.

_‘Do you like my hair?  …It’s okay, I still want to go on a date with you.’_

He’d said it so earnestly.  The same way he said everything.  As if being honest was that easy.

How did someone like that come from a district leader?  Honesty wasn’t second-nature to people in the position they found themselves in.  Even Liu Shan’s father did some rather shady things to maintain his territory.

“Alright, Liu Shan,” Sima Zhao said to the hat he held, flopping back on the bed and kicking the yearbook off the end.  “You wanna play the honest game?  I can do that.  I don’t mind telling you what I’m thinking.”

He tossed the hat in the air and caught it with one hand, staring at the ceiling while continuing to hold a conversation with someone who wasn’t there.  “I’ll tell you everything I think of you when we’re face-to-face one day.  Maybe it won’t be next time, but someday.  About how weird you are.  How your mind seems to be on a completely different planet from everyone else at any given time.  You’re scatterbrained and… I hate to admit Xingcai is right, but you’re spoiled beyond belief sometimes.  But I wouldn’t change a single thing about you.”  He chuckled to himself.  “Maybe that really does mean I like you.  In a dating way, I mean.”  He caught the hat one more time and spun it lazily on his finger.  “It’s decided then.  No turning back.  Let’s go on a date.  Everyone who doesn’t like it can suck it.”

 

()()()()()

 

“I can’t believe you agreed to go on a date with… with _him_!” Xingcai huffed.  She glanced at Liu Shan, sitting next to him.  “What were you thinking?”

“I didn’t agree,” Liu Shan corrected.  “I was the one who asked.  I thought I would like to date him.  Is that not what people think when they decide to go on a date?”

“Do you really like him that much?” Zhao Yun asked, looking in the rearview mirror at them as they pulled up to a stoplight.

“I don’t know.  How much are you supposed to like a person before you date?”

Xingcai sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.  “See?  You don’t even know if you like him.”

“I know I like him,” the heir tilted his head to the side.  “I wasn’t aware you had to like someone a certain amount before you date.  How much did you like Guan Ping when you two began dating?”

“I…” Xingcai was caught off-guard by the question.  She stared at Liu Shan’s expectant look.  “I liked him… I liked him a lot, okay?  This isn’t about me!”

“Well, I like Sima Zhao a lot,” Liu Shan smiled.  He looked out of the window on his side, watching the rain run down it.  “He’s very nice to me.  He listens to everything I say, and he even understands it most of the time.  He doesn’t make fun of me for being different.”  He chuckled lightly.  “And he would have given me a tiger for my 12th birthday.”

“A tiger?” Zhao Yun asked in amusement.  “That doesn’t sound safe.”

“Not a real one,” Liu Shan laughed.  “A stuffed tiger.”

Xingcai stared at him, expression softening.  “Liu Shan…” she sighed.  “I’m sorry for being so hard on you.  I know you don’t mean to be… different.  But I’m just afraid you’re going to get hurt one day.”

Liu Shan looked at her in surprise.  “You are?”

“Of course,” she said, reaching over and pushing him on the shoulder.  “You’re like a walking ball of trouble.”

The ebony-haired heir smiled.  “Sima Zhao said the same thing.  I think you’re both right.  But that’s why I have people who care about me.  You, Zhao Yun, father, Guan Ping.  And Sima Zhao.”

The young woman sighed, catching Zhao Yun’s eye in the mirror.  She could see him smiling at her.  It annoyed her, but she finally conceded.  “Alright, I suppose I can’t stop you from going on a date with Sima Zhao.  But if he does anything to hurt you, I’m going to break both his legs.”

“I would be worried if you didn’t,” the young heir laughed.  The older bodyguard in the driver’s seat chuckled.

“Don’t think this means I’m letting you off the hook.  I’m still training you into the ground when we get home,” Xingcai added.

Liu Shan stopped laughing as his face fell at the words.  He sighed, leaning his forehead on the window.  After a moment he made a surprised sound.  “Oh!  I left my hat.”

“Couldn’t do it, huh?  Couldn’t leave without forgetting _something_ ,” his bodyguard teased.

“Would you like me to turn around?” Zhao Yun offered.

“No, it’s alright,” Liu Shan shook his head.  “I have extras at home.”  He smiled gently at the falling rain.  Let Sima Zhao keep it as long as he wanted.  He didn’t mind leaving a piece of himself in the man of Jin’s hands.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sima Zhao and Liu Shan are confronted by their friends about the date, with varying results. Meanwhile, Zhao schedules the date itself, alongside an unavoidable meeting with his mother.

Like everything in Dynasty City, it didn’t take long for the news that Sima Zhao and Liu Shan were planning on dating to get around.  Most people didn’t care, ignoring the news.  The complicated romantic lives of teenagers were far beneath their worries, after all.  Unfortunately for the couple, that didn’t apply to their inner circles.

“Zhao, we have to talk.”

Said young brunette sighed loudly at the words, turning slowly as if they were holding a crossbow to him.  He’d been heading down the hall of Jin Academy to lunch, trying to avoid his friends while the rumors were fresh.  As he thought, there they stood waiting to intercept him.

Wang Yuanji was the one who spoke first.  “Is it true you’re going out with the heir of the Shu District?”  She didn’t look like she was judging him.  Then again, she didn’t often look like she was… anything.  Her ability to maintain a neutral expression at all times was considered enviable in their district.

“Yeah, I’m going on a date with him.  I was going to call him after school, in fact,” he answered honestly.  Let them think what they wanted to.

As if taking the challenge, Zhong Hui scoffed.  “I can’t believe you!  Have you even _thought_ of what this is going to do to your reputation?  To say nothing of the people who willingly _associate_ with you.”

“I’d usually scold Hui for making this about himself, but he’s right this time,” the blond young woman agreed.  “You aren’t thinking of the overarching consequences of this decision.”

“I said it to Shi, I said it to Dan, and I said it to dad.  Now I’ll say it to you guys,” Zhao stood unwavering.  “I don’t care what anyone thinks.  I’m going on a date with Shan.”

“Don’t be an idiot, Zhao,” Jia Chong snapped.  “You have no idea what you’re getting into.  Even forgetting the political backlash here, think of how many people in the Shu District will want to take advantage of this.  You’re painting a target on your back for anyone who even _relatively_ objects to your family’s business practices.”

“Not everything is about the stupid fights between our families, Gonglu.”

“I don’t understand,” Wen Yang and Xiahou Ba were standing awkwardly to the side of the intervention party.  The ebony-haired athlete tilted his head, looking confused.  “Why is this a big deal?  Shouldn’t Sima Zhao be able to date Liu Shan?”

“They’re from rival district families,” Wang Yuanji explained.  “The Liu family and Sima family practice extremely different methods of business.  And with the rivalry between Zhao’s father and Zhuge Liang… well, this could cause tensions in the districts to stretch even more thinly than they already do.”

“Not to mention it’s a matter of taste,” Zhong Hui sniffed.  “Honestly, could you not have found someone… _normal_ to cause a scandal with?  How can you even stand to be around that… that insufferable airhead?  I’ve only ever had the displeasure of having one conversation with him, and if I were there five minutes longer, I would have torn my hair out trying to figure out how that dysfunctional brain of his works.”

“I don’t think you have a right to call _anyone_ insufferable, Hui,” Sima Zhao snorted.

The genius brunette didn’t reply, face turning red.  Instead, his index finger tangled into the front curl of his bangs, tugging incessantly.  Well, it had gotten him to stop talking, anyway.

“Why do you guys even care?” Xiahou Ba asked, rolling his eyes.  “It’s not actually any of your business, is it?  Just relax.”

“Thank you!” Zhao cried out, rushing over and throwing his arms around Ba.  The temporary student let out a surprised sound but didn’t fight it.  “See?  He understands!”

“He understands nothing,” Jia Chong snapped.  “He sleeps through all his classes and barely interacts with the people who are supposed to be his friends.  He doesn’t even understand the ties between the districts.”

“Excuse me?” Xiahou Ba said, shoving the youngest Sima off of himself to face off against Jia Chong.  “I’ve been a student at every school in this city.  I’ve attended meetings in all four of the major companies.  I know more about all of this than you think.  And better than you, I know what it’s like from _all four_ perspectives, not just your narrow one.”

The others stared at him in shock.  Xiahou Ba was always so unassuming, very personable.  He never conflicted with others, mostly because he spent so little time with them.  He didn’t have enough time to build either bonds or rivalries.

“I… I have to agree with Ba and Zhao,” Wen Yang spoke up again.  “If this is going to make Zhao happy, then I want to wish him luck.  I don’t know anything about politics, or district tensions, or whatever.  But I don’t really care about that kind of stuff if it means my friends can be happy.”

“How delightfully naïve of you,” Zhong Hui sneered.  “And what if his happy makes me _unhappy_?”

“Well, why does it have to?  What are you so mad about?” Xiahou Ba asked.

“I’m not mad!  I just…” the genius trailed off, continuing to tug on the curl of his bang.  “Forget it; he can do what he wants.  But if he does, I’m not sticking around.”  He turned and marched off without another word.

“Hui!” Wang Yuanji called after him, moving to follow.  She looked back at Zhao, and a flash of concern went through her eyes.  “I’m sorry, but I have to do what’s best for Jin District.  And this isn’t it.  If you’re not going to listen to me, I can’t stay either.”

“Yuanji…!”

Despite Zhao calling after her, the blond left as well.

The youngest Sima sighed, looking to Jia Chong.  “Well, are you leaving too, Gonglu?”

“I wish I could, but I have a duty to fulfill.  I can’t change your mind, but you’ll just have to live with me being unhappy,” the pale-skinned bodyguard replied.

“Well, better than nothing,” Zhao shrugged.  He looked at his two remaining companions, smiling.  “Thanks for sticking with me, guys.”

“Hey, someone has to support you,” Xiahou Ba said, though he looked quite pleased with himself as he did.

“Do you know where you want to go with him?  Maybe we can help you plan,” Wen Yang offered.  He actually sounded excited, which was almost foreign coming from the athlete.  He was so shy around people outside of Musou matches that he usually blended into the background, reacting instead of interacting.

“Yeah, sure.  Wanna help, Gonglu?  Or you gonna just be a piece of grumpy furniture?”

Jia Chong rolled his eyes.  “I refuse to help you make a fool of yourself and this district.  I will stay with you, though.  And stop calling me that!”

 

()()()()()

 

“If you’re going on your first date _ever_ , you need some new clothes!”

Liu Shan blinked at Bao Sanniang, tilting his head to the side.  “I do?”

“Duh!” she nodded.  “This is a momentous occasion!”

“It is?”

The upbeat girl sighed loudly, looking at the rest of the gathered teenagers for support.  “Could _someone_ explain to him why this is so important in words he can understand?  Because I’m going to throw a fit if I can’t drag him clothes shopping for this!”

“Don’t look at me, I don’t see the point in spending a lot of money for something like that either,” Xingcai shrugged.  “I just wore a skirt and blouse I already had when I went on my first date with Guan Ping.”  She sat on the lunch table, legs crossed to maintain modesty in her uniform skirt despite the shorts she already wore under it.

“And you looked gorgeous in it,” Ping grinned, sitting in the seat next to her.  “Then again, I think you always look good.  Especially during Musou training.”

“Sweat and the blood of my enemies are my best accessory,” the ebony-haired young woman joked.

“Weizhi, back me up here!” Sanniang whined to her boyfriend.

Guan Suo shrugged helplessly.  “I don’t know what you want me to say.  Clothes aren’t as important as the experiences we had.”

The brunette girl narrowed her eyes.  “Suo, what was I wearing on our first date?”

“What?  Um…” the pretty boy shrank under her expectant gaze, scratching his head.  “Uh… something nice?”

“Guan Suo!  All the money I spent on that dress and you don’t even remember it?!”

“I didn’t know I was supposed to remember your outfit!  I would have paid attention to it if I did!”

“You’re not supposed to pay attention because you’re _expected_ to!  You’re supposed to pay attention because you _want_ to!  I can’t believe you!”

Liu Shan watched the bickering couple.  “Oh, my.  If this is what it causes, I think I will wear something I already own.”

“One of your best ideas,” Xingcai patted him on the head.

“So, do you guys know where you’re going?” Guan Ping asked the young heir of Shu sitting next to him.  “We could give you some ideas if you want.”

Sanniang gave up her insistent pestering towards her boyfriend, turning to face the trio across the table from them.  “Oh, oh!  You should go to Lake Chibi!  Weizhi and I went there last week, and the students from Wu Academy were having a bonfire!  It was so romantic…”  She sighed dreamily, leaning her elbows on the table and propping her chin in her hands.

“I don’t think they’ll be doing that again with all the rain we’ve been having this week,” Guan Suo shrugged.  “But it really was nice.  Lake Chibi is usually a pretty good place no matter what the weather looks like.”

“Hmm, I will have to remember that,” Liu Shan nodded, looking thoughtful.

“He won’t.  I’ll write him a note and stick it to his schoolbag,” Xingcai muttered to the others.

“Don’t most people go to dinner when they’re on a date?” the heir asked.

“Traditionally, though you don’t have to,” his bodyguard answered.  “Sometimes Ping and I go to see a movie or go to the University Musou matches.  They offer food at both of those if you don’t mind having snacks all night.”

“I have to say, I’m surprised how well you are all taking me dating Sima Zhao,” Liu Shan said, changing the topic as suddenly as he usually did.

“Should we not be?” Sanniang asked, tilting her head to the side.

“Well, Zhao’s brother didn’t seem too keen on the idea.  And Xingcai was against it at first as well,” the heir pointed out.

“You’re both the sons of prominent leaders of the districts,” Xingcai said, shrugging.  “I told you before, there will be a lot of backlash over your positions.  Whether it’s true or not, there will still be a suspicion that he has ulterior motives.”

“Not to mention what’s going to happen when Jiang Wei finds out about this,” Guan Suo said lightly.  “He’s going to flip out.”

“Why would he?  Surely he can’t think Sima Zhao is using me,” Liu Shan questioned.

Xingcai, Bao Sanniang, Guan Suo, and Guan Ping all looked at each other.  The only person in all four districts it seemed that didn’t know that Jiang Wei had a huge crush on Liu Shan was Liu Shan himself.  The heir of Shu considered him a good friend, something important as Jiang Wei would take over Zhuge Liang’s job as business advisor when Liu Shan took over Rising Dragon Industries and the Shu District.  Rumor had it that Zhuge Liang himself was gently pushing Jiang Wei to overcome his idea that an advisor could not date their boss.  After all, if that were true then Wu District’s heir, Sun Ce, wouldn’t be dating his future advisor, Zhou Yu.

“Never mind it,” Guan Ping finally took point on answering.  Or rather, avoiding doing so.  “I’m sure things will be fine.  If Jiang Wei gives you a hard time, we’ll run interference.  No matter what position he has secured with you, it’s none of his business who you date.”

“Yeah, it’s totally your own choice,” Sanniang smiled and reached across the table, gently punching Liu Shan’s arm.  “And you could do _way_ worse than Sima Zhao.  At least the guy is cute, and I hear he’s really nice.”

“I heard he’s really lazy, though,” Guan Suo added.

“So between Liu Shan and Sima Zhao we have scatterbrained and lazy,” Xingcai teased.  “I’m tempted to ask if we can go on a double date.  I feel like this is the best recipe for a disaster I’ve ever heard.”

Liu Shan smiled gently.  “He isn’t lazy at all.  He’s very attentive, actually.  He still wants to give me a stuffed tiger for my 12th birthday.”

“I’m… not sure what that has to do with anything,” Guan Ping admitted, looking to Xingcai and Guan Suo.  They both shrugged in agreement with him.

“Ugh, you guys are totally hopeless,” Bao Sanniang groaned.  “He remembered what Liu Shan liked when he was 12, that’s so cute!”

“Actually, I think I would still like one,” the ebony-haired heir said thoughtfully.  “Perhaps I can tell him.”

“No!” Sanniang put a hand out quickly, rejecting the idea.  “You can’t just ask him to get you a stuffed tiger.  You have to let him figure it out on his own!”

“Why?”

“Because if you tell him, then he might think you just want him to get you stuff,” the fashionable teenager said in her best ‘duh’ voice.  “You don’t want to give him the idea that you’re just using him, do you?”

“Of course not,” Liu Shan looked taken aback.  “Dating is complicated.”

“You got that right, Shan,” Xingcai patted him on the shoulder.  “Welcome to couple life.”

 

()()()()()

 

When Sima Zhao got home from school that night, he found his mother waiting in the living room for him.

 Zhang Chunhua was the singular most intimidating woman in the entirety of Dynasty City.  Sima Yi himself was very cautious with her, making sure to run all business deals and family matters through her.  She was also known for being the only Lady of any district.  Liu Bei and Sun Jian had both lost their wives, Liu Bei to sickness and Sun Jian to a boating accident.  Cao Cao’s wife had long since left him, determining that he was more in love with his work than with her.  Since Jin District had been established, Zhang Chunhua became quickly famous for being a great deal of the reason it was successful.

Now she found herself having to deal with her children and their relationship dramas.  Specifically, the complicated matter of Sima Zhao’s.

“Mother, welcome back,” the youngest son greeted, kissing her on the cheek.  “How was your cruise?”

“Delightful.  I feel much more relaxed now,” she replied, kissing him back.  “However, your father has informed me that you’ve been busy trying to make a disgrace of this family while I was gone.”

Zhao cringed.  His mother was always so blunt.  “Mom, I don’t…”

Zhang held up a hand, silencing her son.  “Zhao.  You know that I only want the best for you.  As much as I care about this family’s reputation, I mostly want to make sure you’re not making a mistake that will cost your own wellbeing.”

Zhao sighed and looked at the floor.  “I know, mother.”

“Is it true you chose to date the Shu heir?”

“Liu Shan, yes.  He’s not what everyone thinks,” Zhao quickly started defending the other boy.  “He’s not stupid, or scatterbrained, or… whatever else people say.  Liu Shan is one of the smartest people I know, he just thinks differently than most.”

Zhang Chunhua didn’t interrupt him this time.  She listened carefully to everything he had to say, then nodded.  “I have met him a couple of times when you’ve brought him over.  He does seem like a very intelligent boy.”

“He… does?” Sima Zhao was taken aback.  He wasn’t used to other people acknowledging such a thing.

“Very much so.  Believe me, I know better than most how much people can hide behind a gentle smile,” Chunhua said, emphasizing her point with her own upturn of the lips.  That smile was indeed deceptive, as it hid a sharp and at times devious mind.  “However, I would like to sit down and talk to him myself.  You cannot judge a person on a couple of polite conversations alone.  When is your date?”

“I was going to call him and schedule that tonight,” Zhao answered.

“Good.  Let me know, and I’ll clear my schedule for the day before.  I’d like to know his intentions with my son before I let him take another step in this direction.  Feel free to let him know.  He cannot lie to me and expect to get away with it so he can prepare himself however much he wants for meeting me.”

“Yes, mother,” Zhao nodded, hugging her one more time before heading upstairs.  Sima Shi’s room was empty as he passed it.  He and Zhuge Dan were probably staying late at the university, working.

As soon as he was in his own room, Zhao pulled his cellphone out and thumbed through the contacts.  That went a whole lot better than he was expecting.  He wondered how the ‘intentions’ talk went for Zhuge Dan back when he and Sima Shi first started dating.  It probably went fine, as Dan never had any dishonest intentions with Shi.  He cared deeply for the heir.  Zhao wasn’t sure if Shi was completely sold on their relationship at first or if he’d started dating Dan simply because he wasn’t seeing anyone else at the time, but he had no doubt Shi loved him now.  The two were nearly inseparable.  Even the arguments they had cooled off quickly, despite Shi being a rational man who used logic rather than emotion, and Dan being vice-versa.  They could talk through things within an hour of any disagreement.

He soon found Liu Shan’s number and hit the call button.  After about five rings the soft voice of the heir of Shu District finally answered.  “Hello, Sima Zhao.”

“Hey, Shan,” Zhao grinned, falling back on his bed.  “How’re things?”

“Quite well.  I’m about to go to my tutoring with Zhuge Liang.”

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t realize I caught you at a bad time.”

“No, it’s alright.  He won’t mind if I’m a little late.  Did you call to schedule our date?”

“Yeah,” Zhao nodded even though Shan couldn’t see it.  He reached over to his bedside table and grabbed his planner.  “I’ve been looking through my schedule, and it looks like the next day I’m free most of the evening is this Saturday.”

“Oh, that’s quite short notice,” Liu Shan sounded surprised.

“I know.  Sorry, are you busy on Saturday?”

“No, no.  I simply did not expect it so soon.  But I don’t mind a couple of days.  It will save me from having to be taken clothes shopping by Bao Sanniang.  She absolutely insists.  Xingcai doesn’t think it’s necessary, and Ping and Suo seem to agree.  I’ve yet to get an opinion from Zhang Bao or Guan Xing.”

“Sounds like you aren’t having too much trouble with your friends,” Zhao said, feeling a little jealous.  “Lucky.  I’ve been abandoned over this whole thing by most of mine.  Just have Xiahou Ba and Wen Yang on my side now.  Not even Jia Chong is supporting me, though at least he’s not leaving.”

“I’m sorry,” Liu Shan’s gentle voice turned concerned.  “I didn’t mean to cause a rift between you and your friends.”

“No, it’s not your fault,” the youngest Sima sighed.  “You didn’t do anything wrong.  They’re just so concerned about reputation and keeping up whatever order they think is necessary.  They didn’t have to leave, though I won’t say I’m not sorry they did.  I wish they could show some support instead of being… well… Jin District people.”

“Don’t say that, it sounds like at least two of them aren’t so concerned about their images.”

“Yeah, but unsurprisingly it’s the two who aren’t really Jin.  They’re both from Wei District.  While they’re pretty focused on potential and ambition there, they’re a lot more open to people being themselves.”

“Will you be picking me up on Saturday, or would you like me to come over?” Shan changed the subject quite abruptly.

“I’ll come get you.  Where do you wanna go?” Zhao asked, grateful.  It wasn’t easy talking about the conflicting loyalties of his friends.  “Yang, Ba, and I brainstormed a bit, but we didn’t really get anywhere.  We tend to get a bit off subject between the three of us.”

“Oh, I can understand that,” Shan laughed.  “We discussed it at lunch as well.  I believe Xingcai wrote down our ideas in case I forgot.”  There was a pause and the sound of things being shuffled around.  “Ah, here we are.  Lake Chibi, the movies, or we could see who is competing at the University Musou matches.”

“Oh, that last one sounds fun.  I think Deng Ai is competing on Saturday.  He likes to keep us up to speed on it since we sometimes like going to see him.”

“That sounds good.  Shall we get dinner before or after?  Or perhaps we should simply eat there.”

“Actually, yeah.  The University cafeteria isn’t terrible, and we can eat before the match.”

“Good, good.  When will you be picking me up to go?”

Zhao thought about it.  Finally, he replied, “Actually, let me check when the match is with Deng Ai and I’ll text you.”

“That’s fine.  I will await your text, then.”

“Alright.  Oh, wait, I almost forgot.  My mom wants you to come over the day before, so on Friday.  Can you get Zhao Yun to bring you over after school?  Mom’s not going to let us go on this date until she approves of you.”

“Of course.  I wouldn’t want to impose upon your relationship with your family members as I did with your friends,” Liu Shan replied.

“Like I said, it wasn’t your fault.  And honestly, you couldn’t do any more damage to my relationship with my family than I already have myself.  Dad thinks I’m a disappointment and Shi spends most of his time avoiding me.  Mom’s pretty much the only person I’m really close to, and even she gives me that look like I’m just wasting my life away.”

“Surely that can’t be true, Zhao.  You’re a very good person, I’m sure there’s simply a misunder-”

“ _Liu Shan!_ ”  The heir was interrupted by a banging sound.  Xingcai’s voice came loud and clear through the phone despite there obviously being a door between her and it.  “You get out here and go to your tutoring!  I can’t believe you’re making Zhuge Liang wait!  Do you think he has nothing better to do with his time than sit around while you’re on the goddamn phone?!”

“Oh, dear…” Liu Shan said meekly.  “I didn’t realize I had been on the phone that long.  I will talk to Zhao Yun about driving me on Friday, as well as await your text.”

“No problem.  You get to those lessons before she breaks your door down,” Sima Zhao laughed.

“I would not doubt she is-”

“Liu Shan, I said get off your phone, _NOW!_ ”

“Goodbye, Sima Zhao!”  With that panicked yelp, the usually soft-spoken young man hung up.

Zhao laughed again and stood up.  He walked over to his desk, plugging his phone in and pulling out his homework.  His mother was going to ban him from dating anyone _ever_ if he didn’t keep his grades up, after all.

 

()()()()()

 

Two hours after Liu Shan had hung up with Sima Zhao, he found himself sitting in front of Zhuge Liang.  The man went over his answers on the assignment he was given during their tutoring session.  Every once in a while the renowned advisor would make an ‘hmm’ sound and write on a separate piece of paper.

It was always nerve-wracking to face the judgment of Zhuge Liang.  After all, the man was a genius.  He held high standards for all those under his tutelage, and despite not being a true student of him Liu Shan was no exception.  The advisor expected him to excel in his own way.

Finally, Zhuge Liang placed the pen down and turned to Shan.  “I need to speak candidly with you.  Would you mind that?” he asked.  His voice was famous for how soothing and beautiful it was, even when he was at his most serious.

“Of course,” Shan replied, a tinge of nervousness in his gentle voice.  “Did I do the work wrong?”

“No, it’s not about that,” the older man reassured him.  “As usual, you amaze me with how uniquely you can answer these questions.  I will give you time to process your answers and go over them with you next time so you can explain to me exactly how you came to the conclusions you did.  However, that is not what I want to speak to you about.  I would rather like to ask about the rumors revolving around your involvement with Sima Zhao.”

“I’m going on a date with him on Saturday,” Liu Shan said, not waiting for the question.  He knew it was coming and had no intention of being dishonest about it.

“What caused you to agree to go on one with him?” Zhuge Liang asked.

“Nothing.  He didn’t ask me, I asked him.  Everyone seems oddly surprised by this.”

Zhuge Liang took a breath, putting a finger to his chin.  He seemed to be considering how he wanted to word his next statement.  “You have simply never seemed interested in any kind of relationship before.  Why Sima Zhao?”

“It’s what you do when you like someone, isn’t it?” Liu Shan tilted his head to the side, not understanding.  Was he completely wrong about how he observed relationships and how they grew around him?

“Yes, if you like them enough that you consider them a person you can potentially spend your life with.  Is that how you see Zhao?”

“I think it’s a definite possibility,” the ebony-haired boy answered.

“Again, I would like to know why.  What makes him different from anyone else you could have chosen to date?  There must be a reason he stands out.”

“Do you object to it?” Liu Shan felt the need to ask.  “Xingcai and the others think Jiang Wei will object.  Many of Zhao’s friends do as well.  Is what we’re doing wrong for some reason?”

Zhuge Liang seemed taken aback by the question.  He looked thoughtful again before answering.  “You are a very important young man, Liu Shan.  You are the heir of both the Shu District and Rising Dragon Industries.  Many people would use that to get closer to you and your father, whether for good or ill.  How can you be sure Sima Zhao is not doing so himself?”

“Because that is not who Sima Zhao is,” Liu Shan said matter-of-factly.  “Zhao is kind and smart.  He doesn’t try to be careful of what he says around me, but he also never says mean things.  He understands that I am not… normal.  But he doesn’t _treat_ me as if I am not.  He simply treats me like me.  As the me I _am_ , not the me everyone wishes I were or thinks I am.  If he were using me he would lie, and say dishonestly nice words.  He never does, though.  That is more than I can even say of most of the people in my own district.”

Zhuge Liang’s serious expression melted into a smile.  He stood from his desk, passing around it and standing in front of the younger man.  He placed a hand on Liu Shan’s shoulder, looking him in the eyes.  “I am glad for you, then.  You must understand that as an advisor of Shu it is my job to worry about these things.  I care deeply for both you and your father in ways that I never thought I could when I took this job.  Jiang Wei does as well, even more than I do.  All of the decisions I make, including the ones I make for your father, are in the best interest of Rising Dragon Industries and the Shu District.  Still, the decisions that are not mine to make, those I advise the best I can for the sake of _your_ well-being.  I want you to be happy, and if you truly think Sima Zhao can do this for you, then I can do no more than wish you good luck in it.”

“Thank you, Zhuge Liang,” the heir said sincerely.  “It means more to me than even you can understand that you will not stand in my way in this.”  He surprised the advisor by hugging him, something he rarely did with anyone.  When he turned to leave, he added.  “Mostly, I am grateful because if you wanted to stop us, I have no doubt you could do so.”

Zhuge Liang chuckled and waved him off on his way.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sima Zhao runs interference on some dating drama, and Liu Shan reflects on why this date is important to him. Afterwards, Liu Shan's clandestine meeting with Zhang Chunhua takes place. Sima Zhao and Zhao Yun finally confront Sima Shi about his attitude as well, leading to a surprising deal being struck.

Saturday approached swiftly, and Friday was when Sima Zhao finally started feeling nervous.  He fidgeted and zoned out in History class, drawing looping patterns on his notebook in a bid to calm himself.  He could see Wang Yuanji out of the corner of his eye, obviously frustrated by his lack of focus.  She wouldn’t say anything, though, because she’d sworn not to associate with him until he rid himself of the notion that he should be dating Liu Shan.  It still bothered him that she decided her pride as a citizen of Jin was more important than their friendship, but that couldn’t be helped.  At least with Zhong Hui, it had been mostly expected.  Given a couple weeks he’d probably integrate himself back in with Zhao’s friends without even a word of apology.

Zhao’s thoughts were interrupted by the bell, excusing the class.  Books and bags were shuffled with one hand, while everyone wrote down the pages their assignments would be on with the other one.  He joined them as well, writing quickly and shoving everything into his bag so he could hurry to his next class, a business one he didn’t really have to take but his parents had insisted, ‘just in case.’

“Hey, Wang Yuanji, are you going to the match tomorrow?”

Zhao’s quick retreat slowed as his blood ran cold at the sound of one of the other girls in the class asking the question.

“Yes, Zhong Hui and I will be,” Yuanji answered, standing up with her bag.  “Hui insists he’s just going so I won’t be alone, but we all know that’s not the reason at all.”

“Still won’t just admit it, will he?” the girl giggled.

“No, he’s as stubborn as Wu,” the blonde confirmed, chuckling back.

The brunet teenager stood rooted to his spot for a few moments before shaking his head and running to class.

This wasn’t good.

This was _very much_ not good.

If Yuanji and Hui saw him and Liu Shan at the match there was no doubt drama would be started.  Not by Yuanji, who had too much dignity for such a thing.  But rather by Hui, who for some reason just loved to pick a fight.

Jia Chong was already in his seat behind Zhao’s, pulling out his homework from the last night.  He didn’t even blink when his future boss ran up and slid into his own seat, turning quickly and slamming his hands on his desk.

“Gonglu, I need a favor!” he cried urgently.

“One, don’t call me that.  And two, you don’t need to ask me favors.  I am your shadow, remember?  You speak, I act,” Jia Chong said shortly, realigning the papers that were knocked out of whack by Zhao’s desperation.

“Good, because I need you to keep an eye on Liu Shan and I during our date.”

Those words made Jia Chong pause, glancing up.  “I beg your pardon?”

“I forgot Zhong Hui never misses a match when Deng Ai is in it, and he’s going with Yuanji.  I need you to run interference if he tries anything!” Zhao explained.  When he was met with silence and a raised eyebrow, he put his hands together and bowed his head low.  “ _Please_ , Gonglu!  I… I’ll stop calling you that!  Just Jia Chong from now on, I promise!  I just need you to do this for me!”

The dark-haired teenager sighed and said, “Very well, just stop that.  People are staring.  It doesn’t look good for one of the Sima sons to be begging to one of his employees.”

“ _Future_ employee,” Zhao corrected gratefully.  “You’re not there yet.  But… thanks.  This means so much to me.  If anything is going to mess up this date, I don’t want it to be my drama with the others.  Liu Shan deserves better than that.”

“If you say so,” Jia Chong sighed as the start of class bell rang.

That being as resolved as he could make it, Sima Zhao turned back around in his seat and fished his homework out as well.  Just two more periods and a night of nervous overthinking to go.  He could do this.

 

()()()()()

 

Liu Shan could never understand why they thought he couldn’t hear them.

“Did you hear?  Liu Shan is going on a date with the youngest Sima son tomorrow.”

It wasn’t as if he were deaf simply because he was facing the other direction.

“The lazy one?  This will make a great combination.”

“Yeah, one’s lazy and the other’s stupid.”

“It’ll be the shortest date ever.  I bet one or the other will just wander off from boredom.”

He continued to stare at the rain against the window, focusing on the patterns they made as they ran down and into each other.  It was much more enjoyable than listening to the students laughing behind him.

Zhuge Liang had once told him that the reason his answers were unique to other people on assignments was that his brain worked differently.  When he explained his logic in getting to the answers, the advisor often found they weren’t wrong, simply right in very different ways.  It was because he thought in literals and patterns and truly believed that people simply overthought most problems.  While it often made him a bit scatterbrained and hard to track in his thoughts, it also made him very honest.  That wasn’t to say that he didn’t manipulate others as much as the next person.  No, he was very good at that.  He spent a lot of his time thinking of ways around and through obstacles using the fact that almost everyone thought he was dim.  After all, if they didn’t think he was smart then they certainly didn’t think he was smart enough to manipulate them.

Through all of this, though, there was one lie he told consistently.

That it didn’t hurt to hear what people really thought of him.

Thinking about it never bothered Liu Shan.  After all, he could simply file it away if it was in his head.  But hearing others say it out loud made it so he couldn’t ignore it.  He couldn’t tell what was worst: the obvious lies people told him, or the painful truths he could hear from them behind his back.

That was why he liked Sima Zhao so much.  The young man from Jin was always honest to him, let him know exactly what he felt.  And they were almost always kind things.  Even the ones that emphasized how strange he found Shan were said with affection and not distaste.  It made him feel excited about their date the next day.  And excited wasn’t something Liu Shan was often.

“Hey!”

Liu Shan turned to look as the very hard to ignore voice of Jiang Wei cut into the laughter.  The future advisor was marching back from his seat at the front, having finished their in-class assignment.  The teacher sat at her desk and read a newspaper, content to ignore whatever happened after she gave the assignments as long as they were turned in by the end of class.  This, unfortunately, meant ignoring when people were saying hurtful things.

The brunet glared at the students who turned to him in annoyance, raising a finger as he stopped next to them.  “That is your future district leader, and you should be speaking of him as he deserves!  You are being disrespectful!”

The students looked from him to Liu Shan, becoming suddenly very nervous when they realized he was watching.  “Oh, we didn’t mean anything by it,” one said.

“Yeah, we were just… just joking around.  Sorry if it struck a nerve,” the second agreed.

“We’ll just go talk over there, where we won’t disturb you.  Sorry!” the last completed the insincere apology, pushing the other two to the other side of the room.

Liu Shan watched them leave, then looked up to Jiang Wei.  The brunet let out a sigh, shaking his head and looking back to him.  He smiled warmly at the heir, pulling one of the abandoned chairs over and sitting in it next to him.  “Do not pay any attention to them, my lord.”

“It is hard not to when they’re so close by,” Liu Shan pointed out.

“Yes, I know.  But I’m sure they’ll watch what they say from now on,” Wei assured him.  “I don’t know why they can’t see how wonderful you are, but I’m sure one day when you take up your father’s position it will be plain to everyone.”

The ebony-haired teenager smiled and bowed his head gratefully.  “Thank you, Jiang Wei, but I’m not so sure.  Even I don’t think I am as great as you seem to.”

“But my lord, you are!  You are kind and honest, and speak with your heart!”

Liu Shan’s smile spread a little more, warming at the praise.  He wasn’t used to it from anyone, not even Jiang Wei who poured it on him like an elixir.  There were times in which he thought he may have liked Jiang Wei in the way he did Sima Zhao, but exploring it within himself always came to a conclusion that… no.  It was certainly very close, but also very different.  Because as earnestly as Jiang Wei praised him in spite of his faults, he found it was because the brunet genius was somehow blind to them.  He didn’t wish to be with someone like that, though he knew many would scramble for it.  He wanted someone who acknowledged and liked him _because_ of his eccentricities.  Someone like Zhao.

“You’re far too kind to me, Jiang Wei,” Liu Shan replied, reaching forward and placing a hand on the future advisor’s.  “I appreciate it far more than you will ever know.”

Wei looked down to their touching hands, and something flashed behind his eyes.  Remorse?  Regret?  Tinged with something he couldn’t identify.  Liu Shan learned to read people at a young age, but Jiang Wei was always a little harder for him.

“May I ask you a question, my lord?  Though I’m sure you’ve answered it many times by now,” the brunet asked.

“Of course.”

“Why him?”

Shan had indeed heard the question far more times than he wished.  He recognized that people didn’t understand, but sometimes he wished they would be less curious about it.  Jiang Wei deserved a better response than the vague, if honest, ones he’d given everyone else, though.  “Because he is Sima Zhao,” he settled on.

Wei’s eyes came up from the hands, now burning with the emotions he couldn’t read, but swallowing them back so they didn’t bubble up in his words.  “I… see.  I’m not surprised it’s that simple for you, my lord.  It is one of the many things that make you… you.”  He slid his hand away from Shan’s and stood up, walking back to his desk without another word.

 

()()()()()

 

“I’m home!” Sima Zhao announced as he ran through the door of his family’s manor, kicking off his shoes.  He took his soaked jacket off and hung it in the closet nearby, shaking his hair out between his fingers.

“Welcome home, Zhao,” Zhang Chunhua called from the sitting room.  He entered to find her monitoring one of the maids as she set up for tea.

“Hey, mom,” Zhao walked over and kissed his mother on the cheek.  “Getting ready for your sit down with Liu Shan?”

“Indeed.  I wanted to make it nice and civil, so we’ll be having tea.”

“Are you going to invite him to stay for dinner, then?” the youngest Sima man asked as he watched the young maid bustle around the room with cups and plates.

“Would you like me to?” Chunhua asked, glancing at him.

“Well… I guess not.  I mean, it’d be really awkward with dad and Shi,” Zhao replied.  “Neither like him very much.”

“Are you worried what that means for you two?”

“No, not really,” the brunet young man answered honestly.  “I mean, like I said before… I don’t really care what anyone thinks about us dating.  But I don’t want to put him in that kind of situation.”

His mother chuckled, patting him on the cheek.  “You’re so mindful of him, Zhao, and you’re not even dating yet.  Be careful, or you’ll spoil him.”

“I’m pretty sure Zhao Yun is already doing that,” Zhao grinned back.  “At least if you ask Xingcai.”  He paused a moment, thinking.  “I just realized I don’t know if she’ll be coming over, too.  She usually follows him everywhere or at least tries to.  Maybe she’ll get a break since Zhao Yun is with him, though.”

“If she is then you can keep both of them busy while I talk to him.  I don’t want any interruptions or distractions while we’re discussing his intentions.”

“I’ll do my best,” he assured her.  “But I feel like I should warn you that not having others in the room may not solve any problems with distraction.  He tends to let his mind wander in every direction unchecked.”

“Thank you for the warning,” Chunhua nodded.  “Now go upstairs and clean up before he gets here.  Just because you won’t be participating in the discussion doesn’t mean I don’t want you presentable for our guests.”

“Yes, mother.”

 

()()()

 

After school, Liu Shan went home and changed before Zhao Yun drove him to meet with Sima Zhao’s mother.  Xingcai had been given the day off, which for once she didn’t argue at all about.  As soon as she heard she had a night free, she and Guan Ping started making plans for a Friday night on the town.

The drive to the Jin District was spent in relative silence.  Liu Shan allowed his mind to wander as Yun concentrated on the traffic that was prevalent after school hours.  He didn’t think of anything in particular, but instead a million things at once as he usually did.

“Are you nervous to sit down with Lady Zhang Chunhua?” Zhao Yun’s voice cut through his thoughts as they pulled to a stop behind a line of cars.

“No, I don’t think so,” Shan answered, looking at him in the rearview mirror.  “I’ve met her before.  She’s a very nice woman.  I don’t know why so many people are afraid of her.”

Yun smiled, unsurprised by the answer.  “I think she unnerves people with her sense of authority and control.  I’m glad she has been kind to you when you’ve met her, though.  I hope she still is when you talk.”

“I don’t know why she wouldn’t be,” the heir said, tilting his head.  “She simply wants to talk about my ‘intentions.’  And I have no bad ones, so there’s no reason she should think I have any ulterior motives.”

“You’re right,” the bodyguard chuckled.  “Just answer her honestly and be yourself.  I hear she’s very insightful, so she should be able to easily see that you truly like Sima Zhao.”

Liu Shan nodded and went back to looking out the window as the car began moving again.

A few minutes later they pulled into the large driveway of the Sima manor.  It wasn’t as grand as Cao Cao’s, but it still dwarfed both Liu Bei’s and Sun Jian’s.  With the latter, it wasn’t surprising, though, as the head of Wu and owner of Red Tiger Shipping was very down to Earth and didn’t spend his money on extravagances.  Liu Bei on the other hand simply did his best with what he didn’t give back to his district for the sake of its people.  He still invested in a fairly large home himself but kept it modestly decorated so people entering wouldn’t feel the pressure of the money wasted upon it.

Zhao Yun exited the car first, opening his umbrella as he did.  He then opened the door for Liu Shan, holding the umbrella where he could shelter him and the nice clothes he wore for the occasion from the rain.  The heir looked every bit the part of his position in his cream-colored silk dress shirt, green vest, grey slacks, and fur-trimmed emerald-green coat.  Anyone would probably guess he was simply trying to impress Zhang Chunhua with his appearance, but in truth, this was how he usually dressed outside of his school uniform.  He was very aware of his privilege and spent what money he saved far more lavishly than his father did.

The pair walked to the manor doors, mindful of puddles with his equally expensive shoes.  As soon as they were under cover of the entrance, Zhao Yun closed and shook out the umbrella before ringing the bell.

After a moment a pretty young maid opened the door, bowing.  “Master Liu Shan?” she guessed.

“Yes,” the heir answered simply.

“Very good.  Lady Zhang Chunhua is waiting for you.”  The maid gestured into the house, stepping out of the way.  As they entered, she held out her arms.  “Would you like me to take your coats and umbrella, sirs?”

“Thank you very much,” Zhao Yun answered this time, taking his coat off and handing it to her along with the umbrella.  While she put them in the entrance closet, he helped Liu Shan out of his.  He handed that to the maid, straightening his young charge’s collar while she hung that as well.

“This way, please,” the maid continued after closing the closet door.  She led them to the sitting room where Zhang Chunhua and Sima Zhao were waiting.

“Welcome to our home,” the lady of the house bowed, her son following suit.  “Thank you for agreeing to speak with me before dating my son, Liu Shan.”

“Thank you for inviting me,” Liu Shan replied, returning the bow along with Zhao Yun.

“Zhao, will you take his guest to the living room while we talk?” Chunhua requested.

“Yes, mother,” Sima Zhao nodded to her, walking to the pair and gesturing down the hall.  “Right this way, Zhao Yun.”

“Of course,” the bodyguard followed him.

Before he left the room, Zhao leaned in towards Liu Shan, whispering, “Good luck.”

“Thank you,” Shan chuckled.

“Please, come sit down,” Zhang Chunhua gestured to the chairs around the small table.  “Would you like some tea?”  She sat down, Liu Shan taking a seat across from her.

“Yes, please,” the young heir nodded.

Chunhua poured his tea and then hers, picking up the cup and blowing on it gently.  She watched him pick his own up and do the same before taking a sip.  She followed suit before putting it back down and folding her hands in front of her on the table.  She asked directly, “Tell me, Liu Shan.  Do you always allow your bodyguards to do tasks you’re perfectly capable of doing yourself for you?”

“I beg your pardon?” Liu Shan asked in surprise.  That certainly wasn’t a question he was expecting.

“I was watching you down the hall.  You waited for Zhao Yun to remove your coat for you.  Is there a reason you could not do it yourself?”

Liu Shan tilted his head to the side and blinked.  He then put a finger to his chin, thinking.  “I suppose not.  I’ve never thought of it before.  If he were not here, I would have done it myself without thought.  But when Zhao Yun is around it makes me feel… obligated to let him do things for me, I suppose.”

“Do you expect this kind of behavior from other people?” she asked.

“Not particularly.  Xingcai is my bodyguard, while Zhao Yun is my father’s.  Yet he spoils me far more than she does.  In fact, Xingcai is very hard on me most of the time.”

“You’re aware you are being spoiled?”

“Oh, very,” Liu Shan smiled, chuckling.  “I am very lucky, you know.”

“Yes, I can see that,” Chunhua’s returning smile was unreadable as she reached to the towering tray of treats between them and picked a small cookie.  “Is this what you want from Sima Zhao?  Do you wish him to spoil you?”

“Only if he wishes to, I suppose,” Shan replied, taking another sip of his tea.  “I don’t expect him to treat me any differently than he already does, honestly.  Neither do I want him to.  He makes me feel…”  The heir trailed off and thought for a moment.  “…normal.  Most people treat me differently because of my status and how unusual I am.  They think I’m not aware of any of it, that giving me special treatment will make me want to give them preference.”

“You don’t like people being extra nice to you?” Chunhua asked curiously.

“Not when it’s so… dishonest,” Liu Shan clarified.  He put his cup on its saucer and pushed them to the side, leaning forward.  He placed his elbows on the table and wove his fingers together.  He saw Zhuge Liang do the same many times, and it seemed to help him focus his thoughts enough that he could explain things easier.  “I don’t like being lied to, Lady Zhang Chunhua.  That’s what they’re doing to me.  Lying.  It’s insulting because it tells me they think I’m stupid.  I’m not stupid, though.  I’m different, and I know I am.  I don’t think how most people do.  But that doesn’t make me dim.”  He tapped his woven fingers as she looked at him patiently, waiting for him to continue.  “I thought I was stupid until I was 9 years old.  Teachers and tutors gave up because I wasn’t doing the work how everyone said I should.  The way they did it didn’t make sense to me, though.  It was so… long-winded.  Do not get me wrong, things like math were never hard for me.  Math is easy, straightforward.  There is only one answer to an equation, even if more than one way to get there.  But many other things in life are… less simple in the way they want us to do it.  Because I couldn’t grasp those ways and instead wanted to find a simpler answer, I thought I was unintelligent.  But then Zhuge Liang took me aside and started analyzing how I looked at things by simply giving me the questions and letting me answer without interruption.  I know your husband doesn’t like Zhuge Liang, but he was the first person to tell me that just because I found solutions to the problems and questions that no one else thought of, it didn’t make me _wrong_.”

“Sima Yi can indeed be stubborn in his intense hatred of Zhuge Liang, but that doesn’t mean I have to be,” Chunhua said, picking up another cookie.  “While I will leave it to the two of them who is cleverer, I respect Zhuge Liang.  He is logical.  Reasonable.  But he is also flexible, unlike my husband.  Yi is a great man, whom I love very much, but once he decides he’s right about something there are no two ways around it.”

“Sima Shi is quite the same from what I’ve gathered,” Liu Shan chuckled, unwinding his fingers and taking a treat as well.  He took a bite of it, waiting until he had chewed and swallowed before continuing.  “If Sima Shi takes after his father, does that mean Zhao takes after you?”

“You tell me.  What about me reminds you of Zhao?” Chunhua smiled again, leaning forward a bit.  That smile was still completely unreadable.

Liu Shan finished off his cookie, putting a finger to his chin and thinking.  “It’s rarely that easy, is it?  I see something of you both in him and Shi.  Like you, Sima Shi prefers to hide what he’s thinking, though you do with a smile and him with a scowl.  However, his stubbornness and perspective of the world he receives from his father.  Anyone that does not meet his standards is beneath his notice, and he chooses to ignore.  Sima Zhao, on the other hand, is much more flexible in how he sees people, much like you.  And like his father he is straightforward and open about how he treats people.”

“What makes you think I’m ‘flexible’?” Zhang Chunhua asked.

“Because if you weren’t, you wouldn’t have invited me to meet you,” Liu Shan smiled as he replied.  “You could have simply objected to our date, as your husband and older son have.  But you decided to meet with me and actually get to know me first.  That is far more than most people Zhao is close to have been willing to do.  From what he tells me even some of his friends have pushed him away.”  His face fell a bit as he thought of the phone conversation they’d had.  “I regret that greatly.  I never wanted to get between him and the people he cares about.”

“You aren’t upset his friends don’t like you?”

“Oh, no.  It makes me a bit sad, but I’m afraid I don’t understand why people dislike the idea of our dating enough to be angry at them.  This is something we wish to do, and it makes us happy.  If Zhao didn’t want to go out with me, he would have said ‘no.’ Zhuge Liang said it was because people are afraid one of us is using the other.  But Sima Zhao would never do anything like that.  He is far too kind and earnest.  And I want nothing that seeing Zhao would give me.  I’m… honestly not even sure what it _would_ get me.  I don’t need money, as my family is already rich,” the young heir began ticking things off on his fingers.  “I suppose I could receive a foothold in the Kirin Corporation, but he is not even the heir so being his friend would grant me the same amount of influence as dating him.”

“For someone who isn’t sure of what it could gain you, you seem to have thought about it quite a bit,” Chunhua raised an eyebrow.

“Honestly, they are the only things I can think of,” Liu Shan shrugged, taking another sip of tea.  “I am not stupid, as I said, but that doesn’t mean I am good with these kinds of things.  I don’t understand why anyone does any of these things.  Why hurt someone who cares about you for something that wouldn’t make you happy?”

The Lady of Jin watched him a few more moments before saying, “I must admit, Liu Shan, I invited you here expecting you to try and charm me.  To try and convince me that you are suited to date my son.  The most you’ve spoken on that subject, however, was to point out that it is no one’s business if you are or not.  Including mine.  Most people would be to the point that they would be trying to convince me that they are completely in love with Zhao and want to be with him forever.  That he’s ‘the one’ and they would be crushed if I stood in the way of that.”

Liu Shan tilted his head again, this time the other direction.  “But… I do not know if I am in love with Sima Zhao.  I like him a lot.  I like the way he treats me, and the way I feel when I spend time with him.  But I…”  He looked at the table, face turning to confusion.  After a moment he sighed.  “The more I speak to people about dating, the more I think I have a complete misconception of what its purpose is.”

“What do you mean?”

“Everyone keeps asking me if I’m sure I like him enough to be with him.  But… isn’t that what the date is for?  So we can spend time together and determine if we love each other?  Are people supposed to know how much they like someone for certain before they go out with them?”  The raven-haired heir sighed again, putting a hand on his head and rubbing it.  “I’m sorry, this is one of those moments in which I wonder if I maybe _am_ unintelligent.  I feel like everyone else knows how you’re supposed to conduct ‘dating’ but me.  I’ve never had any interest in dating someone before now.  That was why I asked Zhao.  He’s the first person I’ve spent time with that makes me feel like I at least want to try.”

“Well, that’s closer to my expectation, anyway,” Zhang Chunhua chuckled.  “Liu Shan, you aren’t wrong at all.  When Sima Yi and I first met, we had no idea if we would be together or not.  I knew I liked him, how intelligent and straightforward he was.  But so much about him could have made me decide I didn’t wish to pursue a relationship with him.  One date isn’t even enough most of the time, as we proved.  The first date we went on was a disaster, though it’s a long story I would prefer not to tell now.  But let me just say that if he hadn’t asked for another chance, I would have likely moved on from him after it.  I gave him that second chance, however, and it was a much better date.  A few more and that was when I knew that I could live with both his strengths and faults.  That is what the dates are about.  Not about liking someone for both their strengths and faults, but knowing if you could spend your life with those things and still love them.”

“That is all I ask for the chance to do,” Liu Shan smiled, nodding.

“And I think I will give you that chance,” Chunhua raised her cup.  “You convinced me in far less time than Zhuge Dan.  Then again, I may have decided far earlier than I let him know.  I’m a cruel woman sometimes.”

“You have yet to convince me of such, though I thank you for not teasing me, Lady Zhang Chunhua,” Liu Shan raised his as well.

“You are not the kind of person who would be fun to tease.  My son, however… let us not tell him we’ve already resolved this.  I wouldn’t mind letting him sweat a bit for the trouble he’s caused his family over this date.”

“Well… I suppose as long as there is a good reason for the punishment.”

The two laughed lightly and drank their tea, settling into pleasant conversation.

 

()()()

 

“I hate waiting like this,” Sima Zhao muttered, pacing back and forth.

Zhao Yun, on the other hand, looked perfectly calm.  “There’s nothing to worry about.  Lord Liu Shan isn’t afraid of Lady Zhang Chunhua.  He will do fine.”

“At this point, I don’t think he’s afraid of anything,” the young man of Jin sighed.  He sat down next to the other man on the couch and groaned, covering his face with a hand.  “I don’t like waiting for something like this.  What if mom decides she doesn’t like him?  I can go on our date even without her approval, but she’ll make sure we’re _miserable_.”

“Lord Sima Zhao,” Yun put a hand on his shoulder and smiled.  “Calm yourself.  They are simply having tea and talking.”

Zhao parted his fingers, looking at the older man.

The younger Sima brother never knew what to make of Zhao Yun.  He hadn’t spent much time around him, outside of the few times he was with Liu Shan when they met up.  From what he heard the dark-brunet college student was passionately loyal to the Liu family, dropping anything and everything to assist them in any way they needed.  It reminded him of Jia Chong, but that was where the similarities ended.  Unlike the dark, mysterious Jia Chong, Zhao Yun was open and enthusiastic in his endeavors to serve his lords.

“Shouldn’t you be questioning _my_ intentions?” Zhao finally asked, only half-joking.

“It wouldn’t change anything,” Zhao Yun chuckled.  “Lord Liu Shan has decided you’re the person he wishes to see, and I have no right to stop him.”

“Do you want to?”

“No, I don’t think I do,” the college student looked thoughtful.  “You make Lord Liu Shan happy, even just as a friend.  That’s all I can ask for.”

“Then you are just as much of a fool as we thought.”

The odd pair sitting on the living room couch turned to the door.  Sima Shi and Zhuge Dan were standing there, gazing in disapproval.

“Ah, Lord Sima Shi,” Zhao Yun stood and bowed in respect.  “Zhuge Dan.  How are you today?”

“Better than _your_ lord is, I suspect,” Zhuge Dan said smugly.  “I’ve been where he is right now.  It’s not a fun position.”

“My mother can be a bit intimidating,” Shi agreed, walking into the room.  He stopped behind the couch, leaning on it.  Dan followed close behind.  “I honestly hope she decides you two aren’t even allowed to be friends anymore.”

“Okay, Shi, I get it.  You don’t like Liu Shan,” Zhao turned around and put himself into his brother’s face.  “What I don’t get is what your freaking problem is.  This isn’t your business.”

“My problem is that you don’t give a rat’s ass what this entire fiasco is going to do to our family,” Shi snarled back, not backing down.  “You could have chosen anyone in the four districts, and I can guarantee you almost none of them would have been even half as embarrassing as the one you picked.  That brain-dead-”

The heir of Jin didn’t finish his sentence.  The next thing he knew, he was being hauled off the couch by his collar, being brought face-to-face with Zhao Yun.  The other Dynasty University student’s usually calm demeanor had turned cold, with a glare to accompany it.  “With all due respect, Lord Sima Shi,” he growled, “That is _my_ young lord you’re talking about.  And you will speak about him with the respect he deserves.”

“I am speaking of him with _exactly_ as much respect as _any_ of you Shu District imbeciles deserve,” Sima Shi hissed.

“And that is _my_ lord _your_ hands are on!” Zhuge Dan interceded, grabbing Zhao Yun’s arm and twisting it.

Zhao Yun hissed in pain and released the heir.  He grasped Zhuge Dan’s wrist with his free one and brought the much shorter attendant in this time.  They glared at each other, neither backing down.

“What is going on in here?”

Attention was brought to the doorway again, though this time they all froze.

The leader of the Jin District was standing with his arms crossed testily, glaring at everyone inside.  Even his sons were graced with his sweeping, disapproving gaze.

Before anyone could think of an adequate answer, Sima Yi looked to the grappling attendants.  “Shi, call off your dog,” he simply said.

Zhuge Dan’s face turned red with embarrassment, letting go of Zhao Yun.  He backed up until Shi was between him and the Sima man.  It was no secret that Sima Yi had no love for Zhuge Dan.  Part of it was his temper, but mostly it was because he was cousins with the leader of Jin’s bitter rival, Zhuge Liang.

“Will one of you tell me how this seems to be the appropriate way for men of Jin and Shu to behave?” Sima Yi continued, walking forward until he stood in the middle of the young men gathered.

“We were simply having a… disagreement over Zhao’s choice in associates,” Shi said awkwardly, shifting from one foot to another.  He looked like he did when they were children, getting caught doing things their father disapproved of.

“And how many ‘disagreements’ of yours ends in fisticuffs between attendants?” Yi persisted.

Shi looked away, not answering as his face melted into further embarrassment.

“My apologies, Lord Sima Yi,” Zhao Yun spoke up, bowing low.  “I lost my temper.  I have no excuses.”

The patron of the Sima house raised an eyebrow, face unreadable.  After a moment he acknowledged the young man of Shu.  “Noted.  I won’t report you to your Lord Liu Bei if you do me one favor, then.”

“What is it?” Yun asked quickly, straightening.

“Settle your differences in the Musou Stage.  I will be attending the next match to watch Shi participate.  If you are selected to fight, you will request a match with my son,” Yi instructed.  He looked to said elder Sima brother, ordering, “That goes for you as well, Shi.  If you wish me to forget this lapse in your judgment, you will request a match with Zhao Yun.”

“Yes, father,” Shi said gratefully, bowing.  It wasn’t often that his father gave such simple instructions to make up for their slip-ups.  He had to take advantage of this.

“Thank you, Lord Sima Yi,” Zhao Yun said as well, following suit.

“My lords?”  The maid from before appeared in the door, looking startled to find so many there.  “Oh, I’m very sorry.  I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“No, it’s alright,” Sima Shi told her.  “What did you need?”

“Lady Zhang Chunhua is requesting Master Sima Zhao and Lord Zhao Yun to return to the sitting room,” the maid informed them.

“Thank you,” Sima Yi nodded this time.  “Tell her we’ll all be joining them.”

“All of us?” Zhuge Dan asked in surprise.

“Yes, _all_ of us.  If anyone wishes to try and go against whatever my wife decides, I would like them to do it face-to-face with her,” the Head of Jin clarified, looking between his two sons.

Both swallowed, following him.  The two attendants trailed close behind.

In the sitting room, they found Zhang Chunhua and Liu Shan sitting on the same sofa, surprising them.  Neither was the type to get too physically close to just anyone.

“There you are,” Lady Chunhua smiled, waving them over.  She gestured to the seats around the small table.  “Take seats.  Quickly, now.”

The men did as they were told.  As soon as they were settled, she continued.

“Now, I know you are all anxious to hear what I’ve decided,” the brunette woman said, picking up her teacup and taking a sip.  “I want you all to know we had a long, informative discussion about Liu Shan’s plans and intentions.”

“It was very pleasant,” Liu Shan smiled gently as well.

Looking at the two, the men came to a realization.  But they would dwell on it after Chunhua finished what she was saying.  From the way she returned Liu Shan’s smile, though, it was very apparent what she had already decided.

“Yes, it was, wasn’t it?” she agreed.  “Shan is a delightful boy.  I see no reason to object to him pursuing a date with my son.  I hope you two have a good time.”

“Mother…” Sima Zhao stood up, smiling as well now.  He walked around the table and hugged her, relieved.  “Thanks, mom.”

“I told you,” she replied, kissing his cheek, “I only want what’s best for you.  And as I said, Liu Shan was a delight to sit and talk to.”

“As were you, Lady Chunhua.  We should do this again sometime,” the raven-haired boy suggested.

“We should!  I’ll call you and schedule,” Chunhua chuckled.  Liu Shan joined her.

Zhuge Dan leaned towards the two remaining Sima men, all three looking at the scene with growing dread.  He voiced the reason why quite succinctly.  “Is it just me, or do Liu Shan and Lady Zhang Chunhua seem to… share the same smile…?” he whispered.

“I’m starting to see why Sima Zhao likes him so much,” Sima Shi replied, heart sinking.  He was also beginning to realize why Liu Shan made him so nervous to be alone with, but he wouldn’t admit that out loud.


End file.
